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"THE  NEW  JERSEY  VOLUNTEERS;'' 


(LOYALISTS) 


In  the  Revolutionary  War 


•  •     • 

•  •  • 


THE  NEW  JERSEY  VOLUNTEERS" 


(LOYALISTS) 


In  the  Revolutionary  War. 


BY 


WILLIAM  S.  STRYKER, 

n 

Adjutant-General  of  New  Jersey. 


PRINTED  FOR  PRIVATE  DISTRIBUTION. 


TRENTON,   N.  J. 
Naar,   Day  &  Naar,  Book  and  Job  Printers. 

1887. 


£9,77 

N5S? 


The  New  Jersey  Volunteers— Loyalists— 
in  the  Revolutionary  War. 


The  facts  contained  in  this  paper  in  reference  "to  the 
Loyalists  of  New  Jersey  in  the  military  service  of  the 
Crown  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  are  principally  com- 
piled from  Force's  American  Archives,  O'Callaghan's  Docu- 
mentary History  of  New  York,  Gaines'  Register,  Howe's 
Narrative,  Galloway's  Pamphlets,  Moore's  Diary  of  the 
American  Revolution,  Dawson's  Historical  Magazine,  Hat- 
field's History  of  Elizabeth,  Whitehead's  History  of  Perth 
Amboy,  Minutes  of  the  Provincial  Congress  and  Council  of 
Safetv  of  New  Jersey,  Sparks'  Writings  of  Washington, 
Simcoe's  Military  Journal,  Greene's  Life  of  General  Greeny, 
Pennsylvania  Archives — first  and  second  series,  Lossing's 
Field-book  of  the  Revolution,  Tarleton's  Southern  Cam- 
paigns, Sir  Henry  Clinton's  Narrative,  Draper's  Kings' 
Mountain,  Dawson's  Battles  by  Land  and  Sea,  Barber  & 
Howe's  New  Jersey  Historical  Collections,  New  York  Jour- 
nal, Rivington's  Gazette,  Ramsey's  South  Carolina,  Sims' 
South  Carolina,  and  the  records  on  file  in  my  office.  But, 
of  course,  Sabine's  Loyalists  of  the  American  Revolution 
has  been  constantly  consulted  ;  without  it  this  sketch  could 
certainly  not  have  been  written. 

As  soon  as  General  William  Howe  arrived  at  Staten 
Island,  on  the  7th  of  July,  1776,  so  pleased  was   he  with 


1)70979 


4  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

his  reception  in  the  harbour  of  New  York  that  he  wrote 
these  words  to  the  British  government:  "I  have  great 
reason  to  expect  an  enormous  body  of  the  inhabitants  to  join 
the  army  from  the  provinces  of  York,  the  Jerseys  and  Con- 
necticut, who,  in  this  time  of  universal  oppression,  only 
wait  for  opportunities  to  give  proofs  of  their  loyalty  and 
zeal  for  government.  Sixty  men  came  over  two  days  ago 
with  a  few  arms  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Shrewsbury, 
in  Jersey,  who  were  desirous  to  serve,  and  I  understand 
there  are  five  hundred  more  in  that  quarter  ready  to  follow 
their  example."  *e\ 

General  Howe  soon  after  this  began  to  appoint  recruiting 
officers  in  different  parts  of  New  Jersey  and  to  organize 
detachments  of  Provincials  as  fast  as  they  presented  them- 
selves for  service  in  the  army.  Mr.  Cortlandt  Skinner, 
whose  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  British  king  before 
the  war  had  made  him  a  prominent  man  in  New  Jersey, 
was  selected  as  the  proper  officer  to  organize  and  to  com- 
mand the  men  who  were  anxious  to  enroll  themselves 
tinder  the  standard  of  Great  Britain,  He  was  commis- 
sioned at  first  a  Colonel,  and  afterwards  a  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, with  authority  to  raise  five  battalions  to  consist  of  two 
thousand  and  five  hundred  soldiers,  "  under  command  of 
gentlemen  of  the  country  nominated  by  himself."  He 
established  his  headquarters  at  the  organization  of  the 
corps  on  Staten  Island,  in  New  York  harbour,  and  this 
place  soon  became  the  refuge  for  all  tories  of  New  York 
and  New  Jersey,  as  well  as  for  deserters  from  the  patriot 
army.  General  Skinner  himself  seems  to  have  been 
stationed  on  Staten  Island  and  in  New  York  city  during 
most  of  the  war,  and  it  is  very  seldom  that  we  meet  him 
even  with  his  soldiers  in  any  other  part  of  the  contiguous 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  5 

country.  We  learn  from  General  Howe's  Narrative  that 
at  the  beginning  of  the  campaign  of  1777  General  Skinner 
had  been  able  to  recruit  but  five  hundred  and  seventeen 
men  of  his  complement,  but  in  November,  1777,  he  had 
eight  hundred  and  fifty-nine  men  on  his  brigade  rolls,  and 
in  May,  1778,  "  after  several  months  of  active  exertions," 
he  had  enlisted  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  one  men. 
But  at  that  time  the  nucleus  for  six  battalions  had  been 
made  and  the  officers  commissioned.  During  that  year 
five  hundred  and  fifty  additional  volunteers,  mostly  from 
New  Jersey,  were  enrolled  for  service,  and  afterward  sent 
to  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  It  is  then  apparent  that 
General  Skinner  recruited  about  two-thirds  of  the  quota 
first  assigned  to  him.  All  of  these  soldiers  immediately 
on  enlistment  were  placed  in  active  service,  and  they  began 
to  distinguish  themselves  at  an  early  day  in  their  great 
zeal  to  annoy,  intimidate  and  injure  their  former  patriot 
friends  and  neighbours. 

In  a  letter  written  by  General  Howe  to  Lord  George 
Germain,  dated  New  York,  December  20th,  1776,  this  re- 
mark is  made :  "  I  cannot  close  this  letter  without  making 
mention  of  the  good  service  rendered  in  the  course  of  the 
campaign  by  Cortlandt  Skinner,  Esq.,  Attorney-General  in 
the  Jerseys,  who  has  been  indefatigable  and  of  infinite  ser- 
vice since  the  army  entered  those  provinces.  I  therefore 
humbly  recommend  him  as  a  gentleman  meriting  royal 
favour."  Thus  early  was  General  Skinner  showing  his 
devotion  to  the  King.  This  was  just  after  the  retreat  of 
Washington's  army  through  New  Jersey,  and  General  Skin- 
ner was  urging  his  own  friends  to  take  protection  from  the 
British.  It  was  also  just  prior  to  what  was  called  "the 
unfortunate  affair  "  at  Trenton. 


6  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

In  Brasher's  Journal,  February,  1777,  appears  the  follow- 
ing new  catechism  : 

Q.  "  Who  is  the  most  ungrateful  man  in  the  world?" 

A.  "  Governor  Skinner." 

Q.  "  Why  do  you  call  him  Governor?" 

A.  "  Because  when  Lord  and  General  Howe  thought  that 
they  had  conquered  the  Jerseys  they  appointed  him  Lieu- 
tenant Governor  of  that  State.  Skinner  assumed  that  title 
over  one-tenth  part  of  the  said  State  and  continued  his 
usurpation  for  six  weeks,  five  days,  thirty-six  minutes,  ten 
seconds  and  thirty-one  hundredth  parts  of  a  second  and 
was  then  deposed." 

Q.  "  Why  is  he  called  ungrateful  ?" 

A.  "Because  he  has  joined  the  enemies  of  his  country 
and  enlisted  men  to  fight  against  his  neighbours,  his  friends 
and  his  kinsfolk  ;  because  he  has  endeavoured  to  transfer 
the  soil  that  gave  him  bread  from  the  rightful  possessors  to 
a  foreign  hand  ;  and  because,  to  gain  present  ease  and  tran- 
sitory honours,  he  would  fasten  the  chains  of  slavery  on 
three  millions  of  people  and  their  offspring  forever." 

The  answers  to  these  questions  clearly  show  the  opinion 
which  patriotic  Jerseymen  held  of  General  Skinner  and  of 
the  efforts  which  he  had  already  made  to  restore  them  to 
their  allegiance  to  England. 

In  Rivington's  Army  List  of  1778,  as  found  in  the  His- 
torical Society  of  Pennsylvania,  we  find  the  first  complete 
roster  of  the  officers  of  the  six  battalions  of  the  New  Jersey 
Volunteers.  This  probably  shows  the  state  of  the  organi- 
zation in  the  early  part  of  summer  of  that  year.  The  com- 
pilation has  been  carefully  made,  the  spelling  of  the  names 
corrected,  and  it  is  now  set  forth  in  proper  official  style. 


In  the  Revolutionary  War. 

Brigadier-General,  ....  Cortlandt  Skinner. 
Chaplain, Edward  Winslow. 

FIRST    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  Elisha  Lawrence. 

Major, Thomas  Leonard. 

Adjutant,       Patrick  Henry. 

Quartermaster, James  Nealson. 

Surgeon, William  Peterson. 

Captains, John  Barbarie, 

John  Longstreet, 
Garret  Keating, 
Richard  Cay  ford. 

•Captain-Lieutenant,     .    .    .  James  Nealson. 

Lieutenants, John  Taylor, 

Thomas  Oakason, 
Samuel  Leonard, 
John  Throckmorton, 
John  Monro, 
Patrick  Henry, 
Robert  Peterson. 

Ensigns,    ........  John  Robbins, 

*  John  Thompson, 

Richard  Lippincott, 
William  Lawrence, 
Hector  McLean. 

SECOND    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  John  Morris. 
First  Major,      ......  John  Antill. 

Second  Major,      .    .        .    .  John  Colden. 

Adjutant, Thomas  T.  Pritchard. 

Quartermaster, Thomas  Morrison. 

Surgeon, Charles  Earle. 

Surgeon's  Mate, James  Boggs. 

Chaplain,       .......  John  Rowland. 

Captains, Donald  Campbell, 

George  Stanforth, 


The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Captains, Waldron  Bleau, 

Norman  McLeod, 
Cornelius  McLeod, 
Uriah  Bleau. 

Lieutenants, John  DeMonzes, 

Thomas  T.  Pritchard, 
William  VanDumont, 
Josiah  Parker, 
William  Stevenson. 

Ensigns,     ...        ....  William  K.  Hurlet, 

Thomas  Morrison. 

THIRD    BATTALION. 

First  Major,      Robert  Drummond. 

Second  Major,      Philip  VanCortlandt. 

Adjutant, John  Jenkins. 

Quartermaster, John  Falker. 

Surgeon, Henry  Dongan. 

Captains, John  Hatfield, 

Samuel  Hudnot, 
David  Alston. 

Captain-Lieutenant,     .    .    .  John  Alston. 

Lieutenants, Anthony  Hollinshead, 

John  Jenkins, 
John  Troup, 
William  Chew, 
Francis  Frazer. 

Ensigns, James  Brasier  LeGrange, 

John  Camp, 
John  Willis, 
Jonathan  Alston. 

FOURTH    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  Abraham  Van  Buskirk. 

First  Major, Daniel  Isaac  Browne. 

Second  Major,      Robert  Timpany. 

Adjutant,  ........  Arthur  Maddox. 

Quartermaster,      William  Sorrell. 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.   . 

Surgeon, John  Hammell. 

Captains, William  Van  Allen, 

Samuel  Heyden, 
Peter  Ruttan, 
Patrick  Campbell, 
Daniel  Bessonet, 
Samuel  Ryerson, 
Arthur  Maddox. 

Lieutenants,      Edward  Earle, 

Martin  Ryerson, 
John  Van  Buskirk, 
Michael  Smith, 
James  Servanier, 
Donald  McPherson, 
John  Hyslop. 

Ensigns, John  Simonson, 

James  Cole, 
Justus  Earle, 
John  Van  Norden, 
Colin  McVane, 
George  Ryerson. 

FIFTH    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  Joseph  Barton. 

Major, Thomas  Millidge. 

Adjutant, Isaac  Hedden. 

Quartermaster, Fleming  Colgan. 

Surgeon,    ........  Uzal  Johnson. 

Surgeon's  Mate, Stephen  Millidge. 

Captains, Joseph  Crowell, 

James  Shaw, 
Benjamin  Barton, 
John  Williams. 

Lieutenants,      John  Cougle, 

Isaac  Hedden, 
Joseph  Waller, 
William  Hutchinson. 
Christopher  Insley, 
Daniel  Shannon, 


10  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Lieutenants, John  Reid. 

Ensigns, Patrick  Haggerty, 

Ezekiel  Dennis, 
Peter  Anderson, 
Joseph  Bean. 

SIXTH    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  Isaac  Allen. 

Major, Richard  V.  Stockton. 

Captains, Joseph  Lee, 

Peter  Campbell, 

Charles  Harrison. 
Lieutenants, John  Vought, 

John  Hatton, 

Edward  Steele. 
Ensigns,     .    .    : Daniel  Grandin, 

Cornelius  Thompson, 

James  Service. 

Some  mention  must  be  made  of  the  skirmishes  of  detach- 
ments of  the  Militia  of  New  Jersey  and  of  the  Continental 
Line  with  "Skinner's  Greens,"  as  they  were  called,  whenever 
those  loyalists  left  Staten  Island  for  a  tour  of  plunder  on 
the  rich  fields  of  New  Jersey,  and  note  must  also  be  made 
of  direct  attacks  on  the  tory  forces  on  Staten  Island,  as  well 
as  a  brief  statement  of  the  conduct  of  those  loyal  battalions 
in  their  campaign  in  the  South. 

On  the  morning  of  February  18th,  1777,  Colonel  John 
Neilson,  of  the  Second  Regiment,  Middlesex  county,  New 
Jersey  Militia,  with  a  small  detachment  of  his  command, 
captured  Major  Richard  V.  Stockton,  of  the  Sixth  Battalion 
of  the  Volunteers,  with  fifty-nine  enlisted  men,  on  Lawrence 
Island.  Four  men  were  killed  in  the  skirmish,  their  arras 
were  taken  and  some  camp  equipage. 

During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1777,  the  New  Jersey 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  11 

Volunteers  made  various  excursions  into  New  Jersey  for 
forage  for  the  British  army.  This  became  so  annoying  that 
Colonel  Matthias  Ogden,  of  the  First  Battalion,  New  Jersey 
Continental  Line,  then  commanding  the  post  at  Elizabeth 
Town,  with  Colonel  Elias  Dayton,  of  the  Third  Battalion, 
who  was  stationed  at  Newark,  and  a  party  of  one  hundred 
militia  of  Essex  county,  determined  to  inflict  some  severe 
punishment  on  Skinner's  tories.  On  the  22d  of  August 
they  were  re-enforced  by  a  thousand  men  of  the  brigade  of 
Brigadier-General  William  Smallwood,  of  Maryland,  and 
of  Brigadier-General  Chevalier  Preudhomme  DeBorro,  and 
just  before  midnight  they  crossed  over  from  Halstead's  Point, 
near  the  mouth  of  Morse's  creek,  to  Staten  Island.  The 
New  Jersey  Volunteers  were  then  stationed  from  Decker's 
Ferry  to  Billops's,  now  Ward's  Point.  The  attack  by  the 
Jersey  Continentals,  before  daylight  the  next  morning, 
resulted  in  taking  prisoner  Lieutenant-Colonel  Elisha  Law- 
rence, of  the  First  Battalion,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Joseph 
Barton,  of  the  Fifth  Battalion  of  the  Volunteers,  with  one 
hundred  and  thirty  enlisted  men  of  their  commands,  and 
in  severely  wounding  Major  John  Barnes,  of  the  First  Bat- 
talion, and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Edward  Vaughan  Dongan, 
of  the  Third  Battalion,  from  which  wounds  they  both  died. 
General  Sullivan,  however,  with  the  other  body  of  Conti- 
nentals, endeavored  at  the  same  time  to  surprise  the  Volun- 
teers, but  was  deceived  by  a  tory  guide,  and  having  come 
upon  the  loyal  troops  awaiting  him,  was  quite  severely 
punished  by  them.  Indeed,  General  Skinner  claimed  the 
affair,  notwithstanding  his  loss,  as  a  great  victory. 

On  the  27th  of  November,  1777,  General  Philemon  Dick- 
inson, commanding  officer  of  the  New  Jersey  Militia,  sud- 
denly embarked  before  daylight  from  Halstead's  Point  to 


12  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Staten  Island  with  a  party  of  about  fourteen  hundred 
militia.  He  advanced  his  men  in  three  different  detach- 
ments by  different  roads,  to  rendezvous  at  a  central  point 
seven  miles  distant.  Unfortunately,  it  was  soon  found  that 
General  Skinner  had  been  informed  of  the  intended  attack, 
and  before  three  o'clock  he  had  drawn  his  troops  off  the 
island.  General  Dickinson,  however,  made  a  few  little 
attacks  on  some  straggling  parties  of  the  tories  and  on  the 
detachment  of  the  British  troops  under  Major-General  John 
Campbell,  and  he  killed  some  five  or  six  men  and  took 
twenty-four  prisoners.  He  lost  three  men  of  his  command 
captured,  and  two  wounded.  The  main  object  designed  by 
this  affair  was  not  accomplished,  but  General  Washington 
was  pleased  with  the  disposal  made  of  the  forces  by-General 
Dickinson  and  the  manner  in  which  they  had  been  handled. 

A  considerable  body  of  the  New  Jersey  Volunteers  spent 
the  winter  of  1777-78  in  the  gay  life  which  the  British 
soldiery  enjoyed  during  that  season  in  Philadelphia.  The 
rest  of  the  force  remained  on  Staten  Island.  From  Howe's 
Narrative  we  find  that  during  their  occupancy  of  Philadel- 
phia the  British  held  out  special  inducements  for  men  to 
enlist  in  the  loyal  corps,  but  they  were  obliged  to  report 
that  they  obtained  but  "  three  troops  of  light  dragoons,  con- 
sisting of  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  troopers  and  one 
hundred  and  seventy-four  real  volunteers,  from  Jersey, 
under  Colonel  Vandyke."  The  service  of  this  officer, 
whether  he  was  a  Jerseyman  or  a  resident  of  Pennsylvania, 
has  not  been  ascertained,  nor  can  it  be  said  what  became  of 
the  "real  volunteers"  and  what  military  duties  they  per- 
formed. 

On  April  2d,  1778,  a  detachment  of  New  Jersey  Volun- 
teers left  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of  garrisoning  the 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  13 

fort  at  Billingsport,  New  Jersey.  A  small  attack  was  made 
by  the  militia  of  New  Jersey  from  Elizabeth  Town  Port  at 
one  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  June  9th,  1778,  and  they 
effected  a  landing  on  Staten  Island  and  fired  upon  the 
Provincial  troops  that  were  still  stationed  there.  Again, 
just  before  daylight,  they  attempted  to  land  in  ten  boats, 
said  to  contain  one  hundred  men,  but  they  were  greeted 
with  a  quick  discharge  of  firearms  and  were  driven  back. 
It  is  thus  seen  that  the  tories  were  not  left  entirely  undis- 
turbed in  possession  of  this  beautiful  garden  island. 

On  the  evening  of  June  12th,  1778,  Captain  Cornelius 
Hatfield,  Jr.,  of  the  Jersey  Volunteers,  crossed  over  the 
sound  and  plundered  the  residence  of  Lieutenant  John 
Haviland,  of  the  First  Regiment  of  Essex  county,  New 
Jersey,  Militia,  and  carried  him  off  a  prisoner. 

Some  portion  of  the  New  Jersey  Volunteers  crossed  the 
State  from  Cooper's  Point  to  Sandy  Hook,  with  General  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  in  his  memorable  march  through  New 
Jersey,  in  June,  1778. 

After  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  June  28th,  1778,  General 
Washington  posted  at  Elizabeth  Town  the  Brigade  of 
Jersey  Continentals  under  General  William  Maxwell  to 
guard  and  keep  in  check  the  armed  tories  on  Staten  Island. 

On  the  15th  day  of  October,  1778,  Captain  Patrick 
Ferguson,  of  the  Seventieth  Regiment  British  Foot,  with 
a  detachment  of  the  Third  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  made  a 
descent  on  Little  Neck,  New  Jersey,  on  Egg  Harbour  Inlet, 
surprised  a  detachment  of  Count  Pulaski's  troops  and 
killed  some  fifty  of  his  men. 

On  the  27th  day  of  November,  1778,  an  expedition  with 
two  thousand  troops  sailed  from  Sandy  Hook  for  Savannah, 
Georgia,  and  six  days  after  landing  at  Tybee  Island,  off  the 


14  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

harbour  of  that  city,  they  took  part  in  the  fight,  December 
29th,  on  Brewton  Hill.  A  detachment  of  the  New  Jersey 
Volunteers,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Allen  commanding,  went 
out  with  this  party  and  suffered  considerably  in  the  battle 
just  mentioned.  Captain  Peter  Campbell,  one  of  the  most 
gallant  officers  of  the  detachment,  was  killed. 

In  the  year  1779  the  brigade  of  New  Jersey  Volunteers 
was  so  far  consolidated,  as  to  reduce  the  organization  to 
four  battalions.  A  number  of  the  officers  were  retired  and 
the  roster  of  the  force  appeared  as  follows,  as  we  find  from 
McDonald  &  Cameron's  List,  in  the  Royal  Institution  of 
London : 

Brigadier-General,   ....  Cortlandt  Skinner. 
Chaplain.  . Edward  Winslow. 

FIRST    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  Joseph  Barton. 

Major, Thomas  Millidge. 

Adjutant, Isaac  Hedden. 

Quartermaster, Bartholomew  Doughty. 

Surgeon, Uzal  Johnson. 

Captains, Joseph  Crowell, 

Garret  Keating, 
James  Shaw, 
Richard  Cayford, 
John  Cougle. 

Lieutenants, James  Nealson, 

Joseph  Cunliff, 
Patrick  Haggerty, 
Isaac  Hedden, 
Samuel  Leonard, 
William  Hutchinson, 
John  Taylor. 

Ensigns, John  Lawrence, 

James  Brittain, 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  15 

Ensigns, Zenophon  Jewett, 

John  Thompson, 
John  Reid, 
William  Lawrence, 
James  Moody. 

SECOND    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  John  Morris. 

First  Major, John  Antill. 

Second  Major,      John  Colden. 

Adjutant, Thomas  T.  Pritchard. 

Quartermaster, Thomas  Morrison. 

Surgeon, Charles  Earle. 

Chaplain, John  Rowland. 

Captains, Waldron  Bleau, 

Cornelius  McLeod, 
Donald  Campbell, 
George  Stanforth. 

Lieutenants,      John  DeMonzes, 

William  Van  Dumont, 
Thomas  T.  Pritchard, 
Josiah  Parker, 
Thomas  Morrison, 
Charles  Babbington, 
George  Lambert, 
Samuel  Richard  Wilson, 
William  Stevenson. 

Ensigns, Uriah  Bleau, 

James  Brasier  LeGrange. 

THIRD    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  Isaac  Allen. 

Major, Robert  Drummond. 

Adjutant, John  Jenkins. 

Quartermaster, John  Falker. 

Surgeon, William  Peterson. 

Chaplain,      Thomas  Barton. 


16  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Captains, Joseph  Lee, 

Patrick  Campbell, 
Samuel  Hudnot, 
Charles  Harrison, 
Bartholomew  Thatcher, 
Daniel  Cozens, 
Thomas  Hunlock. 

Lieutenants,      Edward  Steele, 

John  Hatton, 
John  Troup, 
William  Chew, 
James  Harrison, 
John  Coombes, 
John  Jenkins, 
Enoch  Lyon, 
William  Turner. 

Ensigns, John  Willis, 

John  Camp, 
Cornelius  Thompson, 
Nathaniel  Coombes, 
Jonathan  Alston, 
Peter  Dunworth, 
John  Seamon, 
Richard  McGinnis, 
George  Swanton. 

FOURTH    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant -Colonel,     .    .    .  Abraham  Van  Buskirk. 

Major, Philip  Van  Cortlandt. 

Adjutant,       . 

Surgeon, John  Hammell. 

Chaplain,      Daniel  Batwell. 

Captains, William  Van  Allen, 

Peter  Ruttan, 
Samuel  Ryerson. 

Lieutenants, Edward  Earle, 

Martin  Ryerson, 
John  Van  Buskirk, 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  17 

Lieutenants, James  Servanier, 

John  Hyslop. 
Ensigns, John  Simonson, 

John  Van  Norden, 

Justus  Earle, 

Colin  McVane, 

James  Cole. 

During  the  year  1779  General  Skinner  offered  a  reward 
of  2,000  guineas  for  the  capture  of  Governor  Livingston,  of 
New  Jersey,  dead  or  alive.  This  excited  the  cupidity  and 
the  reckless  zeal  of  many  of  the  Jersey  loyalists.  A  very 
spic^  correspondence  ensued  in  March  and  April,  1779,  be- 
tween the  Governor  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  reference  to 
this  attempted  exploit.  In  May,  1780,  we  find  Ensign 
James  Moody,  of  the  First  Battalion,  whose  very  name  was 
a  terror  to  patriots  in  New  Jersey,  leading  an  expedition  for 
the  seizure  of  the  Governor. 

On  the  10th  of  May,  1779,  about  one  hundred  men  of  the 
Third  Battalion,  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  crossing  from  New 
York  city  by  way  of  New  Dock,  attacked  their  old  Bergen 
county  neighbors  at  Closter.  They  killed  Cornelius  Dema- 
rest  and  wounded  three  other  farmers  and  burned  the 
dwelling  houses  and  barns  of  seven  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  village.  The  militia  in  that  part  of  the  county  in  the 
companies  of  Captains  Abraham  J.  Blauvelt,  Cornelius 
Harring  and  John  Huyler  immediately  gathered  and  pur- 
sued the  tory  bands.  The  Loyalists  succeeded,  however,  in 
carrying  off  four  of  the  patriots,  but  obtained  no  cattle,  no 
forage,  or  any  plunder  of  any  kind. 

During  the  summer  of  1779  a  considerable  detachment, 
of  the  New  Jersey  Volunteers  was  sent  to  reinforce  the 
British  army  in  South  Carolina,  and  took  part  in  the 
2 


18  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

assault  on  Savannah,  October  9th,  1779.  A  battalion  under 
command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Isaac  Allen  formed  part  of 
the  garrison  of  one  of  the  large  redoubts  on  the  south  side 
of  the  city,  near  the  river.  Captain  Daniel  Cozens,  of  the 
Third  Battalion,  lost  his  life  in  this  engagement. 

On  the  9th  of  January,  1780,  Brigadier-General  William 
Irvine  received  orders  from  General  Washington  to  ascer- 
tain the  situation  and  strength  of  General  Skinner's  Brigade 
on  Staten  Island.  The  night  of  the  14th  of  January  was 
selected  for  the  enterprise,  and  Major-General  Lord  Stirling 
was  detailed  to  command  the  forces,  which  moved  in  three 
distinct  detachments.  The  party  started  on  the  morning 
of  the  15th,  crossed  the  ice  on  sleds  from  DeHart's  Point  to 
Staten  Island,  and  one  detachment  marched  towards  Don- 
gan's  Mills,  another  toward  what  is  now  Tompkinsville, 
and  the  third  detachment  toward  Decker's  Ferry.  The 
tories,  again  apprised  of  their  coming,  were  found  strongly 
guarded  in  their  works,  and  it  was  with  some  difficulty 
and  address  that  Lord  Stirling  was  able  to  withdraw  his 
command  in  safety,  not  even  daring  to  attack  them  in 
their  intrenchments.  He  had  learned  that  a  channel  had 
been  opened  in  the  ice  from  New  York,  and  that  large  re- 
enforcements  were  on  their  way  from  that  city. 

A  party  of  New  Jersey  Volunteers  of  the  First  and  Third 
Battalions — in  all  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  men — under 
Lieutenant  Van  Buskirk,  with  twelve  British  dragoons 
under  command  of  Lieutenant  Stuart,  made  a  raid  on 
Elizabeth  Town  on  the  evening  of  January  25th,  1780,  and 
carried  off  five  officers  and  forty-seven  soldiers.  They  also 
burned  the  Presbyterian  Church,  the  Court  House  and  the 
School  House.  Captain  Cornelius  Hatfield,  Jr.,  was  the 
guide  of  the  tory  troops  on  this  occasion,  and   the  incen- 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  19 

diary  work  was  ascribed  to  the  discredit  of  this  malicious 
man,  whose  father  was,  at  that  very  time,  an  elder  in  the 
church  destroyed  by  his  wanton  conduct. 

On  the  evening  of  February  10th,  1780,  the  British  and 
tory  troops  on  Staten  Island  made  another  raid  on  Elizabeth 
Town,  plundering  the  residences  of  many  prominent  citi- 
zens and  made  active  search  for  Judge  Elisha  Boudinot 
and  the  Honorable  William  Peartree  Smith,  both  noted 
patriots. 

On  March  24th,  1780,  they  tried  the  same  experiment, 
and  this  time  took  Major  Matthias  Halsted  a  prisoner. 

On  June  7th,  1780,  two  battalions  of  the  New  Jersey 
Volunteers  having  been  assigned  to  the  division  com- 
manded by  the  Hessian  General  Knyphausen,  crossed  over 
to  Elizabeth  Town,  marched  as  far  as  Connecticut  Farms 
and  thence  to  Springfield,  New  Jersey.  In  the  battle  of 
Springfield,  which  was  fought  June  23d,  1780,  these  two 
battalions  marched  on  either  flank  of  the  division  of 
Major-General  Matthews,  and  on  the  march  and  during 
the  fight  exchanged   many  shots  with  the  patriot  troops. 

In  the  forces  commanded  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Patrick 
Ferguson,  and  generally  spoken  of  as  British  regulars,  a 
considerable  number  of  picked  men  of  the  New  Jersey 
Volunteers  had  been  assigned  for  special  service.  Captain 
Patrick  Campbell  of  the  Second  Battalion,  commanded  the 
detachment  of  light  infantry  which  belonged  to  the  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Alexander  Innes.  This  corps  took  an 
active  part  in  the  fight  at  King's  Mountain,  South  Carolina, 
October  7th,  1780.  Captains  Patrick  Campbell  and  Samuel 
Ryerson  were  wounded  and  Ensign  Richard  McGinnis  was 
killed  in  this  fight. 

On  the  evening  of  November  4th,  1780,  a  party  of  the 


20  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Volunteers  came  over  from  Staten  Island  to  Elizabeth  Town, 
and  on  this  occasion  captured  Colonel  Matthias  Ogden,  of 
the  First  Regiment,  Jersey  Continental  Line,  and  Captain 
Jonathan*  Dayton  of  the  Third  Regiment.  Enterprises  of 
this  kind  were  frequent  during  the  winter  of  1780-'81. 
Especially  was  this  so  on  March  21st,  26th  and  27th  and 
June  26th,  1781. 

In  the  siege  of  Fort  Ninety-Six  in  South  Carolina,  May 
22d,  1781,  the  garrison  consisted  partly  of  men  of  the 
Second  Battalion  of  the  Volunteers.  Captain  Patrick 
Campbell  commanded  a  party  of  thirty  men,  who,  at  one 
stage  of  the  siege,  made  a  sally  from  the  rear  of  the  battery 
and  fell  on  the  flank  of  the  American  troops  and  a  desper- 
ate contest  ensued.  Captain  John  Barbarieand  Lieutenant 
John  Hatton  were  badly  wounded.  The  New  Jersey 
Volunteers  took  part  also  in  the  fight  at  Guilford,  at 
Cowpens,  at  Eutaw  Springs,  and  at  the  siege  of  Charleston. 
At  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs,  Captain  James  Shaw,  of 
the  First  Battalion,  was  mortally  wounded  and  died  soon 
afterward,  and  Captain  John  Barbarie,  of  ihe  same  organi- 
zation, Captain  Jacob  Van  Buskirk  and  Lieutenant  John 
Troup,  of  the  Third  Battalion,  received  serious  wounds. 

On  September  4th,  1781,  the  Fourth  Battalion  left  New 
York  with  Arnold's  expedition  for  the  attack  on  New  Lon- 
don, Connecticut.  They  landed  near  that  village  on  Sep- 
tember 6th,  meditating  only  plunder  and  not  battle.  The 
battalion  took  part  in  the  closing  scene  of  the  desperate 
defence  of  Fort  Griswold,  and  the  murder  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  William  Ledyard,  after  he  had  given  up  his  sword, 
is  often  in  history  given  to  the  discredit  of  Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Van  Buskirk.  This  certainly,  however,  is  an  error. 
General  Arnold  detached  the  Fourth  Battalion  under  com- 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  21 

mand  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Joshua  Upham,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, to  take  a  hill  which  commanded  the  village. 
This  was  very  quickly  done,  and  General  Arnold  followed 
the  force  to  the  hill,  which  had  been  taken-.  During  this 
fight  they  were  compelled  to  storm  Groton  Fort.  They 
massacred  the  garrison  and  burned  the  village  of  New 
London. 

Among  the  "  prisoners  taken  in  the  garrisons  of  York 
and  Gloucester,  October  19th,  1781,"  we  find  that  there  was 
a  captain,  a  lieutenant  and  two  enlisted  men  of  the  Third 
Regiment,  New  Jersey  Volunteers.  This  little  party  evi- 
dently failed  to  escape  on  the  transport  vessels  to  New  York, 
on  which  Lord  Cornwallis  had  placed  all  the  Loyalists  who 
had  taken  part  in  the  siege  of  Yorktown. 

In  Gaines*  Register  for  1782,  in  the  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania,  we  find  a  roster  of  the  officers  of  the  Volun- 
teers as  they  appeared  by  the  rolls  of  that  brigade  at  the 
beginning  of  that  year.  Lieutenant-Colonel  DeLancey  had 
returned  from  captivity  and  many  other  changes  had  taken 
place  in  the  lists  of  the  officers  of  Skinner's  brigade.  The 
roster  is  as  follows  : 

Brigadier-General,   ....  Cortlandt  Skinner. 

FIRST    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  Stephen  DeLancey. 

Major, Thomas  Millidge. 

Adjutant, Ozias  Insley. 

Quartermaster, John  Waddington  (Died). 

Quartermaster,      .    .    ..  •  .    .  Theodore  Valleau. 

Surgeon, Uzal  Johnson, 

Chaplain, Charles  Inglis. 

Captains, John  Colden, 

Joseph  Crowell, 


22 


The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 


Captains, 


Captain-Lieutenant, 
Lieutenants,  .    .    . 


Ensigns,     . 


John  Cougle, 
John  Taylor, 
Samuel  Leonard. 
William  Hutchinson. 
Joseph  CunlifT, 
Isaac  Hedden, 
Patrick  Haggerty, 
John  Thompson, 
John  Lawrence, 
James  Moody, 
John  Reid, 

William  Van  Dumont. 
James  Brittain, 
Zenophon  Jewett, 
Ozias  Insley, 
Henry  Barton, 
Phineas  Millidge, 
John  Woodward, 
James  Barton, 
Reuben  Hankinson, 
Philip  Skinner. 


SECOND    BATTALION. 


Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  Isaac  Allen 

Major, Robert  Drummond. 

Adjutant, Cornelius  Thompson. 

Quartermaster John  Falker. 

Surgeon, William  Peterson. 

Chaplain, Charles  Morgan. 

Captains, Joseph  Lee, 

Patrick  Campbell, 
Charles  Harrison, 
Bartholomew  Thatcher, 
Daniel  Cozens, 
Thomas  Hunlock, 
John  Barbaric 

Captain-Lieutenant,     .    .    .  Edward  Steele. 

Lieutenants,      John  Jenkins, 

William  Chew, 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  23 

Lieutenants, John  Hatton, 

James  Harrison, 

John  Coombes, 

Enoch  Lyon. 
Ensigns, John  Willis, 

Cornelius  Thompson, 

Nathaniel  Coombes, 

John  Swanton, 

John  Shannon, 

John  Leonard, 

Lewis  Thompson, 

George  Lee. 

THIRD    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  Abraham  Van  Buskirk. 

Major,  .    . Philip  Van  Cortlandt. 

Adjutant, John  Hyslop. 

Quartermaster, William  Sorrell. 

Surgeon, John  Hammell. 

Surgeon's  Mate, Haulenbeck. 

Chaplain, Daniel  Batwell. 

Captains, William  Van  Allen, 

Peter  Ruttan, 

Samuel  Ryerson, 

Jacob  Van  Buskirk, 

Edward  Earle, 

Waldron  Bleau, 

Donald  Campbell, 

Norman  McLeod. 
Lieutenants,      John  Van  Buskirk, 

James  Servanier, 

John  Hyslop, 

John  Simonson, 

John  Van  Norden, 

Josiah  Parker, 

William  Stevenson, 

George  Lambert, 

Justus  Earle. 


24  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Ensigns, Philip  Van  Cortlandt,  Jr., 

William  Sorrell, 
Richard  Cooper, 
John  Jewett, 
Uriah  Bleau, 
Henry  Van  Allen, 
Robert  Woodward, 
Stephen  Ryder, 
Hendorff. 

A  roster  of  officers  of  the  brigade  in  1783,  the  close  of 
the  war,  is  given  in  Rivington's  Army  List,  in  the  collec- 
tions of  the  New  York  Historical  Society.  This  record  was 
made  about  the  time  the  loyalists  had  abandoned  all  hope 
of  sustaining  the  British  power  in  the  new  republic,  and 
were  beginning  to  think  where  they  should  flee  to  escape 
the  hatred  of  their  former  friends  and  neighbours.  The 
list  is  here  given  : 

Brigadier-General,   ....  Cortlandt  Skinner. 

FIRST    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  Stephen  DeLancey. 

Major, Thomas  Millidge. 

Adjutant, John  Atchison. 

Quartermaster, . 

Surgeon, Charles  Earle. 

Chaplain, Charles  Inglis. 

Captains, Joseph  Crowell, 

John  Cougle, 
John  Taylor, 
Samuel  Leonard, 
Alexander  McDonald, 
Patrick  Haggerty, 
William  Hutchinson. 

Captain-Lieutenant,     .    .    .  Joseph  Cunliff. 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  25 

Lieutenants,      Isaac  Hedden, 

John  Thompson, 

John  Lawrence, 

William  Van  Dumont, 

James  Moody, 

John  Reid, 

Andrew  Stockton, 

James  Brittain, 

Henry  Barton. 
Ensigns, Zenophon  Jewett, 

Ozias  Insley, 

Phineas  Millidge, 

John  Woodward, 

James  Barton, 

Reuben  Hankinson, 

Philip  Skinner, 

John  Atchison, 

Joseph  Brittain. 

SECOND    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  Isaac  Allen. 

Major, Robert  Drummond. 

Adjutant, Cornelius  Thompson  (Resigned). 

Adjutant, George  Cypher. 

Quartermaster, William  Falker  (Resigned). 

Quartermaster, Daniel  James. 

Surgeon, Daniel  Bancroft. 

Chaplain, Charles  Morgan  (Removed). 

Chaplain, James  Sayre. 

Captains,  Joseph  Lee, 

Patrick  Campbell, 
Charles  Harrison, 
Bartholomew  Thatcher, 
Daniel  Cozens, 
Thomas  Hunlock, 
John  Barbaric 

Captain-Lieutenant,     .    .    .  Edward  Steele. 

Lieutenants,      John  Jenkins, 

William  Turner, 


26  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

• 

Lieutenants, John  Hatton, 

James  Harrison, 
John  Coombes, 
Enoch  Lyon, 
John  Willis, 
Cornelius  Thompson. 

Ensigns, Nathaniel  Coombes, 

John  Shannon, 
William  Banks, 
John  Leonard, 
Lewis  Thompson, 
George  Lee, 
Ruloff  Ruloffs, 
Stephen  Millidge. 

THIRD    BATTALION. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,     .    .    .  Abraham  Van  Buskirk. 

Major, ...  Philip  Van  Cortlandt. 

Adjutant, John  Hyslop. 

Quartermaster,      .    .    .    .    .  William  Sorrell. 

Surgeon, John  Hammell. 

Chaplain,      Daniel  Batwell. 

Captains, William  Van  Allen, 

Samuel  Ryerson, 
Jacob  Van  Buskirk, 
Edward  Earle, 
Waldron  Bleau, 
Norman  McLeod, 
Donald  Campbell. 

Lieutenants,      John  Van  Buskirk, 

James  Servanier, 
John  Hyslop, 
John  Simonson, 
William  Stevenson, 
Josiah  Parker, 
George  Lambert, 
Justus  Earle, 
Richard  Cooper. 

Ensigns, Philip  Van  Cortlandt,  Jr. 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  27 

Ensigns, William  Sorrell, 

John  Jewett, 
Uriah  Bleau, 
Henry  Van  Allen, 
Robert  Woodward, 
Stephen  Ryder, 

Hendorff, 

Malcom  Wilmott. 

In  addition  to  what  has  been  written  in  reference  to  the 
conduct  of  these  tory  volunteers  during  the  Revolutionary 
War,  special  mention  must  now  be  given  of  the  officers  who 
commanded  this  contingent  during  that  period. 

Brigadier-General. 

Cortlandt  Skinner. — A  few  purely  personal  facts  with 
regard  to  General  Skinner  need  only  now  be  added.  He 
was  of  Scotch  ancestry  and  was  born  in  1728,  was  the 
Speaker  of  the  Colonial  Legislature  after  1765  and  the  last 
Attorney-General  of  the  King  for  the  Province  of  New  Jer- 
sey. He  was  considered  a  lawyer  of  marked  ability  and 
strict  integrity  of  character.  He  continued  his  allegiance 
to  the  Crown  and  received  authority  to  form  a  corps  of  loy- 
alists for  duty  as  a  brigade  of  New  Jersey  Volunteers  in  the 
military  service.  He  was  made  colonel  thereof  July  1st, 
1776,  and  afterward  commissioned  brigadier-general.  He 
served  as  such  during  the  whole  war.  His  family  lived  in 
New  York  city  and  afterward  at  Jamaica,  Long  Island, 
during  the  war,  and  at  its  conclusion  they  all  sailed  for 
England.  He  continued  through  life  on  the  half-pay  list 
of  the  British  Government  as  a  general  officer,  and  he  died 
at  Bristol,  March  15th,  1799.     He  married,  in  1752,  Eliza- 


28  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

beth,  daughter  of  Philip  Kearney,  of  Perth  Amboy,  New 
Jersey.     He  had  five  sons  and  eleven  daughters. 

Lieutenant-Colonels. 

Isaac  Allen. — About  the  time  of  General  Howe's  occu- 
pation of  Trenton,  in  December,  1776,  the  family  of  Isaac 
Allen  left  their  home  in  that  city,  accepted  protection 
papers  and  were  ever  afterward  considered  subjects  of  King 
George.  Isaac  Allen  was  commissioned  December  3d,  1776, 
in  the  Sixth  Battalion.  At  the  siege  of  Savannah,  Georgia, 
October  9th,  1779,  he  appears  as  in  command  of  the  Third 
Battalion,  but  in  the  later  years  of  the  war  in  the  Second 
Battalion  as  its  lieutenant-colonel.  During  the  war  all 
his  property  in  Trenton  was  confiscated.  In  the  year  1783 
he  resumed  his  profession  as  a  lawyer  in  St.  John,  New 
Brunswick,  and  in  after  years  took  a  seat  upon  the  supreme 
bench  and  was  a  member  of  the  Council  of  the  Province. 
His  death  occurred  in  the  year  1806,  in  the  sixty-fifth  year 
of  his  age. 

Joseph  Barton. — This  officer  appears  on  the  rolls  of 
1778  as  in  command  as  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Fifth 
Battalion,  and,  in  the  following  year,  of  the  First  Battalion. 
He  was  captured  by  the  patriots  under  Generals  Stirling 
and  Sullivan,  on  Staten  Island,  August  22d,  1777.  He  left 
the  service  in  1781.  Very  little  is  known  of  his  personal 
history. 

Stephen  DeLancey. — He  was  of  the  illustrious  family 
of  that  name  in  New  York.  It  does  not  appear  why  he 
accepted  a  commission  in  a  New  Jersey  Regiment  as  lieu- 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  29 

tenant-colonel  of  the  First  Battalion,  but  he  was  commis- 
sioned as  such  September  5th,  1776,  while  he  was  a  pris- 
oner. On  the  evening  of  June  4th,  1776,  he  was  celebrating 
the  birthday  of  George  III,  and  being  loud  in  his  expres- 
sions of  loyalty,  he  and  his  party  were  arrested  by  the 
patriotic  citizens  of  Albany  and  given  in  the  safe-keeping 
of  Governor  Trumbull  of  Connecticut,  who  seems  to  have 
taken  charge  during  the  war  of  such  tories.  After  his 
release  he  was  again  commissioned  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  First  Battalion,  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  December  25th, 
1781,  and  so  continued  until  the  close  of  the  war.  After 
peace  was  declared  he  removed  to  Nova  Scotia. 

Edward  Vaughan  Dongan. — He  was  the  youngest  son 
of  Walter  Dongan,  of  Staten  Island,  New  York.  He  held 
the  office  of  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Third  Battalion,  and 
in  command  thereof  at  the  beginning  of  that  organization. 
In  the  skirmish  on  Staten  Island,  hereinbefore  described, 
on  August  22d,  1777,  he  was  severely  wounded  and  died 
soon  after.  He  was  in  his  twenty-ninth  year  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  and  the  record  of  the  times  calls  him  "  a 
young  gentleman  of  uncommon  merit,  both  as  a  man  and 
a  soldier." 

Elisha  Lawrence. — The  family  of  Lawrence,  in  Mon- 
mouth county,  was  well  represented  in  the  Continental 
Army  and  the  militia  of  the  State  in  the  Revolutionary 
War.  John  Lawrence,  however,  a  land  surveyor,  was  an 
ardent  loyalist,  and  was  imprisoned  for  his  conduct  during 
that  period,  and  his  son,  Dr.  John  Lawrence,  was  arrested 
and  kept  in  Trenton  and  then  in  Morristown,  on  parole- 
The  Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey  on  July  17th,  1776, 


30  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

had  an  interesting  discussion  of  his  case.  Another  son, 
Elisha  Lawrence,  who,  in  1775,  was  sheriff  of  the  county, 
was  one  of  the  most  zealous  supporters  of  the  Crown.  In 
1776,  at  the  age  of  twenty  six,  he  was  made  the  command- 
ing officer  of  the  First  Battalion  of  New  Jersey  Volunteers, 
with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel,  having  been  very 
active  in  organizing  the  corps.  His  property  was  con- 
fiscated and  sold  April  5th,  1779.  In  the  skirmish  on 
Staten  Island,  August  22d,  1777,  he  was  captured  by 
Colonel  Matthias  Ogden  and  the  forces  under  Major-Gen- 
eral John  Sullivan,  and  his  connection  with  the  Jersey 
Volunteers  ceased  at  that  date.  After  the  war  Colonel 
Lawrence  removed  to  Nova  Scotia,  retiring  on  half  pay, 
and  he  died  at  Cardigan,  Wales,  in  the  year  1811. 

John  Morris. — In  the  early  stages  of  the  war  he  was 
commissioned  as  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  Second  Bat- 
talion, New  Jersey  contingent  to  the  Royal  army,  and  he 
remained  in  the  service  until  1780.  His  services  do  not 
appear  very  prominent,  and  little  is  known  of  him  except 
that  on  one  occasion  he  chose  to  disobey  the  orders  of  the 
commanding  general  of  the  British  Army,  who  had  directed 
him  to  destroy  some  salt  factories  in  Monmouth  county. 
Exercising  some  conscience  in  the  matter,  he  spared  cer- 
tain private  stores  and  only  levied  on  public  property. 
The  result  of  this  unmilitary  conduct  is  not  known  to  be 
on  record.  In  the  Constitutional  Gazette,  of  August  26th, 
1776,  he  is  noted  as  having  been  commissioned  lieutenant- 
colonel  on  the  17th  inst.  He  formerly  served  in  the  Forty- 
seventh  Regiment  of  the  British  Line. 

Abraham  Van    Buskirk. — He  entered   the  service  No- 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  31 

vember  16th,  1776,  with  the  rank  of  major,  and  in  1778  he 
was  in  commission  as  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Fourth  Bat- 
talion. In  1782  and  in  1783  he  was  in  command  of  the 
Third  Battalion.  He  distinguished  himself,  with  his  bat- 
talion, at  the  attack  on  Fort  Griswold,  in  the  harbour  of 
New  London,  Connecticut,  and  in  the  massacre  which  fol- 
lowed, and  is  spoken  of  in  report  by  Arnold  with  applause 
for  his  great  services.  He  did  not  remain  in  the  United 
States  after  the  war,  but  removed  immediately  to  Shelburne, 
Nova  Scotia,  and  became  mayor  of  the  city. 

Majors. 

John  Antill. — Although  an  officer  of  this  name  held  the 
commission  of  major  in  the  Second  Battalion,  New  Jersey 
Volunteers,  in  1778  and  1779,  comparatively  nothing  is 
known  of  his  service  up  to  August  15th,  1780,  when  he  was 
cashiered  for  making  "false  returns  and  drawing  provis- 
ions for  more  men  than  the  effective  strength  of  his  bat- 
talion." He  married  the  daughter  of  Alexander  Colden, 
surveyor-general  of  New  York. 

John  Barnes. — He  was  a  resident  of  Trenton,  New  Jer- 
sey, before  the  war,  and  was  high  sheriff  of  the  county  of 
Hunterdon  up  to  July  18th,  1776,  when  he  was  superceded 
by  the  Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey  because  he  re- 
fused to  execute  the  writs  issued  by  its  authority.  His  res- 
idence on  Queen,  now  Greene  street,  below  Front,  was  used 
by  General  Washington  on 'December  29th,  1776,  as  his 
headquarters.  In  the  beginning  of  the  organization  of  the 
Volunteers  he  accepted  the  office  of  major  in  the  First  Bat- 
talion.    He  was  severely  wounded  August  22d,  1777,  at  the 


32  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

same  time  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dongan  was  wounded,  and 
died  August  31st,  1777,  "  much  lamented  as  a  worthy  man 
and  a  gallant  soldier." 

Daniel  Isaac  Browne. — There  is  nothing  known  of  the 
military  record  of  this  officer,  except  that  he  held  the  office 
of  major  in  the  Fourth  Battalion  in  1778,  and  left  the  ser- 
vice that  same  year.  Nor  is  his  personal  history  known 
before  or  after  the  war. 

John  Colden. — We  find  an  officer  of  this  name  as  a 
major  in  the  Second  Battalion  New  Jersey  Volunteers  in 
1778  and  1779.  In  1782  we  find  him,  by  reason  of  consoli- 
dation of  the  battalion  a  captain  in  the  First  Battalion. 
He  is  believed  to  be  a  grandson  of  Lieutenant-Governor 
Colden.  [See  New  York  Genealogical  and  Biographical 
Register,  Vol.  IV.,  Jan.,  1873,  page  171.] 

Robert  Drummond. — Few  men  did  more  to  make  General 
Skinner's  Brigade  a  numerical  success  than  Robert  Drum- 
mond. He  spent  most  of  the  fall  of  1776  recruiting  for  the 
Volunteers,  was  very  successful  and  was  made  major  of  the 
Third  Battalion  November  20th,  1776,  and  in  1782  and 
1783  of  the  Second  Battalion.  He  was  in  service  during 
the  whole  war.  A  large  number  of  the  men  enlisted  by 
him  fell  victims  to  fever  in  the  Southern  campaign;  He 
died  in  the  Chelsea  Hospital,  district  of  London,  and  was 
buried  in  St.  Luke's  churchyard,  February  3d,  1789. 
Major  Drummond  lived  before  the  war  at  Acquackanonk 
Landing,  now  Passaic,  New  Jersey,  and  was  a  merchant 
and  shipper.  He  married,  April  1st,  1759,  Jennie, 
daughter  of  Elias   Vreeland.     A   portrait  of  him  is  still  ex- 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  33 

tant,  taken  in  London  in  1784,  which  represents  him  in  the 
uniform  of  a  British  officer,  scarlet  coat,  blue  facings  and 
buff  vest.  He  was  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Province  of  New  Jersey  from  1770  to  1774,  a  deputy  to 
the  Provincial  Congress  in  May,  1775,  and  again  in  October, 
1775,  in  January  and  June,  1776.  On  July  2d,  1776,  he 
voted  against  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the  State. 
In  1778  his  property  was  all  confiscated.  A  sketch  of  the 
life  of  this  officer  may  be  found  in  the  "  Paterson  Press  " 
of  January  31st,  1877. 

Thomas  Leonard. — This  man  was  one  of  the  first  of 
Jersey  tories.  He  resided  in  Freehold,  and  in  April,  1775, 
the  Committee  of  Inspection  proclaimed  that  he  must  be 
treated  as  a  "  foe  to  the  rights  of  America."  We  find  him 
as  major  of  the  First  Battalion  in  1778,  and  leaving  the 
regiment  the  same  year.  Affer  the  war  he  lived  in  Nova 
Scotia. 

Thomas  Millidge. — Was  a  resident  of  Hanover  town- 
ship, Morris  county,  New  Jersey.  He  was  a  deputy  sur- 
veyor in  New  Jersey  by  appointment  of  the  King  before 
the  war.  In  the  course  of  the  numerous  surveys  he  made 
he  acquired  a  large  amount  of  very  valuable  real  estate. 
When  the  war  broke  out  he  joined  the  brigade  of  loyalists 
under  Skinner — it  is  thought  out  of  a  conscientious  regard 
for  his  sworn  allegiance  to  the  Crown.  He  was  commis- 
sioned major  of  the  Fifth  Battalion,  December  11th,  1776; 
was  made  made  major  of  the  First  Battalion  in  1779,  and 
so  continued  until  the  end  of  the  war.  All  of  his  land  in 
New  Jersey  was  immediately  confiscated  by  the  patriots. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  he  settled  in  Nova  Scotia.  Only 
3 


34  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

once  did  he  return  to  Morris  county,  and  then  his  old 
neighbours  gave  him  distinctly  to  understand  that  he  was 
not  wanted  there.  He  died  in  the  year  1816.  He  is 
always  represented  as  a  very  honorable  man,  firm  in  his 
convictions  of  duty  and  correct  in  his  habits  of  life. 

Richard  V.  Stockton. — Major  Stockton,  of  the  Sixth 
Battalion  of  Volunteers,  was  a  resident  of  Princeton,  and  a 
connection  of  the  patriotic  family  at  "  Morven."  He.  how- 
ever, was  a  tory  of  the  most  malignant  type,  and  his  private 
character  could  not  have  been  exemplary,  as  he  was  called 
"Double  Dick,"  on  account  of  sundry  unfair  transactions. 
He  was  also  known  as  the  "  famous  land  pilot,"  because  of 
his  skill  as  a  guide  in  the  uninhabited  parts  of  New  Jersey. 
Colonel  John  Neilson,  of  the  Second  Regiment,  Middlesex 
Militia,  surprised  Major  Stockton  and  his  party  at  Law- 
rence Island,  on  the  morning  of  February  18th,  1777,  and 
took  sixty-three  prisoners.  Colonel  Neilson  was  promoted 
for  this  little  affair  to  a  general  officer,  and  Major  Stockton 
was  sent  by  General  Putraan  in  irons  to  Philadelphia. 
Washington  said  of  him  that  he  had  been  "  very  active 
and  mischievous,  but  desired  that  he  should  be  treated  as 
a  captured  officer,  and  not  as  a  felon."  He  was  tried 
August  15th,  1780,  by  general  court-martial  for  the  murder 
of  Derrick  Amberman,  of  Long  Island,  found  guilty  and 
sentenced  to  suffer  death.  The  sentence  seems,  however, 
not  to  have  been  inflicted.  Some  account  of  his  villainous 
conduct  is  narrated  in  Sabine's  Loyalists,  Vol.  II,  page 
335.  After  the  war  he  spent  the  balance  of  his  life  at  St. 
John,  New  Brunswick.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Joseph 
Hatfield,  of  Elizabethtown. 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  35 

Robert  Timpany. — He  was  an  Irishman  by  birth  and 
received  his  education  at  the  University  of  Glasgow.  He 
came  to  America  in  1760,  lived  in  Philadelphia  several 
years,  and  then  removed  to  Bergen  county,  New  Jersey, 
opening  a  school  at  Hackensack.  He  was  made  major  of 
the  Fourth  Battalion  in  1778.  He  was  a  very  ardent  sol- 
dier during  the  entire  war,  always  ready  to  serve  his  King, 
and  he  received  several  wounds  during  the  campaigns  in 
the  South.  He  attained  the  great  age  of  one  hundred  and 
two  years,  dying  at  Yarmouth,  Nova  Scotia,  in  1844.  His 
name  on  the  records  is  often  written  Tenpenny. 

Philip  Van  Cortlandt. — He  was  of  the  well-known 
Dutch  family  of  Van  Cortlandt,  who  took  such  a  prominent 
part  among  the  early  settlers  of  New  Amsterdam  as  land 
owners  on  the  Hudson  river.  His  birth  year  is  stated  as 
1739.  Although  considered  a  resident  of  New  York,  he  is 
found  as  major  of  the  Third  Battalion  of  New  Jersey  Vol- 
unteers, December  11th,  1776,  and  he  remained  in  service 
for  all  the  years  of  the  war.  He  must  be  carefully  distin- 
guished from  his  cousin,  Colonel  (afterwards  General)  Philip 
Van  Cortlandt,  of  the  Second  New  York  Continental  Regi- 
ment, or  from  Colonel  Philip  Van  Cortland,  of  Essex 
county,  New  Jersey,  who  commanded  a  battalion  and 
fought  on  the  patriot  side  under  General  Heard  at  the 
battle  of  Long  Island.  The  property  of  Major  Van  Cort- 
landt was  all  confiscated,  and  he  fled  to  England  after  the 
war,  dying  in  May,  1814,  aged  seventy-four  years.  In  Sa- 
bine's Loyalists  will  be  found  an  account  of  his  own  very 
large  family.  Four  of  his  five  sons  were  officers  in  the 
army  of  Great  Britain, 


36         The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Adjutants. 

John  Atchison. — An  officer  by  this  name  was  commis- 
sioned April  25th,  1782,  as  an  ensign  and  adjutant  of  the 
First  Battalion.  He  had  evidently  been  promoted  for  ser- 
vice in  the  ranks.     Nothing  is  known  of  his  history. 

George  Cypher. — On  the  resignation  of  Adjutant  Thomp- 
son, George  Cypher  was  made  adjutant  of  the  Second  Bat- 
talion, September  7th,  1783.  This  was  just  at  the  close  of 
the  war. 

Isaac  Hedden. — He  was  a  lieutenant  and  adjutant  of 
the  Fifth  Battalion,  commissioned  July  29th,  1777,  and 
held  the  same  commission  in  the  First  Battalion  the  next 
year,  but  then  declined  the  staff  position,  and  remained  in 
the  line  until  the  organization  was  disbanded.  He  was 
made,  so  Sabine  says,  clerk  of  the  House  of  Assembly  of 
the  Province  of  New  Brunswick. 

Patrick  Henry. — Mr.  Henry  was  lieutenant  and  adju- 
tant of  the  First  Battalion  until  late  in  the  fall  of  1778, 
when  he  was  dropped  from  said  office.  His  after  history 
is  not  known. 

John  Hyslop. — He  was  commissioned  a  lieutenant  in 
the  Fourth  Battalion,  March  25th,  1777,  and  adjutant  of 
the  Third  Battalion,  June  1st,  1781,  and  as  such  remained 
until  peace  was  declared.  His  history,  or  that  of  his  family 
has  not  been  found. 

Ozias  Insley.— On   August  25th,  1780,  he  appears  as  an 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  37 

ensign  in  the  first  battalion  and  adjutant  thereof,  but  was 
supplanted  by  John  Atchison  as  adjutant,  in  April,  1782. 
His  military  service  otherwise  is  not  known.  With  other 
officers  he  left  for  Nova  Scotia  after  the  declaration  of 
peace,  but  died  on  Staten  Island,  the  scene  of  his  military 
service. 

John  Jenkins  —On  the  rolls  of  the  Third  Battalion,  in 
1778,  we  find  the  name  of  this  officer  as  lieutenant  and 
and  adjutant,  commissioned  March  20th,  1777,  and  he  held 
the  line  office  in  the  Second  Battalion  until  the  end  of  the 
war,  although  John  Hyslop  takes  his  place  on  staff  duty  in 
1781.  We  find  his  name  after  the  war  as  a  resident  of 
New  Brunswick,  Canada,  and  a  grantee  of  the  city  of  St. 
John. 

Arthur  Maddox.— This  officer  was  a  captain  and 
adjutant  in  the  Fourth  Battalion  up  to  the  close  of  the  year 
1778,  and  is  then  dropped  from  the  rolls  and  nothing  more 
is  known  of  him. 

Thomas  T.  Pritchard. — He  commenced  his  service  as  a 
lieutenant  and  adjutant  of  the  second  battalion  at  the 
opening  of  the  contest,  and  in  1780  is  lost  to  the  service. 

Cornelius  Thompson. — The  records  show  an  officer  of 
this  name  as  ensign  in  the  Second  Battalion,  March  24th, 
1777,  and  as  adjutant,  commissioned  June  29th,  1780.  He 
was  promoted  a  lieutenant,  February  22d,  1783,  and 
resigned  his  commission  as  adjutant,  September  7th,  1783. 


38         The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Quartermasters. 

Fleming  Oolgan.—  He  was  quartermaster  of  the  Fifth 
Battalion  in  1778,  but  does  not  appear  in  the  Volunteers 
after  that  date. 

Bartholomew  Doughty. — This  man  is  enrolled  as  quar- 
termaster of  the  First  Battalion  in  1779. 

John  Falker  was  quartermaster  of  the  Third  Battalion 
from  its  organization  until  1781,  then  transferred  to  the 
Second  Battalion  and  resigned  February  22d,  1783. 

Daniel  James. — On  the  resignation  of  Quartermaster 
Falker,  Daniel  James  took  his  office,  and  so  continued 
until  the  Second  Battalion  was  disbanded.  He  was  origi- 
nally a  resident  of  Philadelphia,  but  did  not  return  there 
after  the  war.  It  is  believed  he  settled  in  Shelburne,  Nova 
Scotia. 

Thomas  Morrison. — He  was  ensign  and  quartermaster 
of  the  Second  Battalion  up  to  the  year  1778,  was  then  pro- 
moted lieutenant,  and  still  held  the  office  of  quartermaster 
of  that  organization  in  1780. 

James  Nealson  was  lieutenant  and  quartermaster  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Lawrence's  First  Battalion  in  1778,  and 
afterward  a  captain-lieutenant  for  a  short  time. 

William  Sorrell  entered  the  service  of  the  King,  De- 
cember 24th,  1776,  when  he  was  commissioned  quarter- 
master of  the  Fourth   Battalion.      He  was  also  commis- 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  39 

sioned  an  ensign  and  quartermaster  of  the  Third  Battalion, 
July  31st,  1779,  and  so  continued  until  peace  was  an- 
nounced. He  was  a  prisoner  of  war  in  Philadelphia, 
August  28th,  1779,  and  February  12th,  1780,  as  is  shown 
by  the  paroles  in  the  collections  of  the  Historical  Society 
of  Pennsylvania. 

Theodore  Valleau  was  quartermaster  of  the  First 
Battalion  for  a  short  time  after  the  death  of  Quartermaster 
Waddington,  in  1782,  but  does  not  appear  on  the  rolls  the 
following  year. 

John  Waddington. — During  the  years  1780,  1781  and  a 
part  of  1782,  this  officer  was  the  quartermaster  of  the  First^ 
Battalion,  but  died  of   disease  during   the  last-mentioned 
year. 

Surgeons. 

Absalom  Bainbridge. — Dr.  Bainbridge  was  born  at 
Maidenhead,  now  Lawrenceville,  Mercer  county,  New  Jer- 
sey, in  the  year  1742,  graduated  at  the  Princeton  College 
in  1762,  and  for  several  years  practiced  the  profession  of 
medicine  in  his  native  village.  In  1773  he  removed  to 
Princeton  and  was  elected  president  of  the  State  Medical 
Society.  In  1777  he  removed  to  Flatbush,  Long  Island, 
and  then  to  New  York  city,  and  having  accepted  protec- 
tion from  the  British,  he  was  commissioned  surgeon  in 
General  Skinner's  Brigade,  but  ceased  his  connection  there- 
with before  April,  1778.  He  was  the  great-grandfather  of 
the  late  Rev.  Dr.  John  Maclean,  for  many  years  president 
of  Princeton  College,  and  the  father  of  Commodore  William 


40         The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Bainbridge,  of  the  United  States  Navy.  After  service  in 
the  volunteers,  Dr.  Bainbridge  resumed  his  practice  in 
New  York  and  died  there,  June  23d,  1807. 

Daniel  Bancroft. — He  was  surgeon  of  the  Second  Bat- 
talion at  the  closing  days  of  the  war.  This  is  generally 
considered  to  be  the  man  who  was  confined  in  the  prison 
in  Philadelphia  in  1777.  On  being  released,  he  became  a 
more  ardent  tory  than  ever  before. 

Henry  Dongan. — This  officer  was  surgeon  of  the  Third 
Battalion  up  to  1778.  He  was,  no  doubt,  of  the  same 
family  as  the  dead  soldier,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dongan. 
His  personal  history  cannot  now  be  ascertained. 

Charles  Earle. — At  the  beginning  of  the  war  he  was 
surgeon  of  the  Second  Battalion,  but  was  dropped  in  1781, 
and  on  April  24th,  1782,  we  find  him  restored  to  the  ser- 
vice, but  as  surgeon  of  the  First  Battalion. 

John  Hammell. — At  the  beginning  of  the  war  we  find 
Dr.  Hammell  on  the  patriot  side,  and  July  24th,  1776,  he 
was  commissioned  surgeon's  mate  of  Colonel  Van  Cortland's 
Battalion  of  Heard's  Brigade,  New  Jersey  detached  militia. 
He  went  with  General  Heard's  command  to  re-inforce 
the  army  at  New  York,  and  in  his  professional  capacity 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Long  Island.  Soon  after  that  he 
professed  his  allegiance  to  Great  Britain  and  accepted  ser- 
vice in  the  British  Army.  He  was  commissioned  surgeon 
of  the  Fourth  Battalion,  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  November 
25th,  1776.  In  the  fall  of  1777  he  was  captured  on  Staten 
Island  by  a  party  of  troops  under  Major-General  Philemon 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  41 

Dickinson,  who  commanded  the  New  Jersey  Militia  in  the 
field,  and  by  order  of  the  Council  of  Safety,  November 
31st,  1777,  lie  was  committed  to  the  jail  for  high  treason. 
He  was  surgeon  of  the  Third  Battalion  at  the  close  of  the 
war. 

Uzal  Johnson. — He  was  born  in  Newark,  New  Jersey, 
April  17th,  1757.  On  the  17th  of  February,  1776,  he  was 
commissioned  surgeon  of  the  North  Battalion,  Second 
Regiment,  of  Essex  County  Militia.  When  the  colonies 
declared  themselves  independent,  he  retained  his  allegiance 
to  the  British  Crown,  and  soon  after  is  found  in  commis- 
sion as  surgeon  of  the  Fifth  Battalion  of  New  Jersey  Vol- 
unteers, afterward  transferred  to  the  First  Battalion.  He 
went  with  the  New  Jersey  contingent  to  South  Carolina, 
and  was  of  great  service  to  the  wounded  at  King's  Moun- 
tain. He  lived  in  Newark  after  the  war,  and  died  there 
May  22d,  1827. 

William  Peterson  was  surgeon  of  the  First  Battalion 
at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  in  the  Third  in  1779,  and  in 
1782  in  the  Second  Battalion.  I  am  unable  to  find  any 
other  personal  record  of  him  than  that  he  was  once  taken 
prisoner  on  Staten  Island  in  1777. 

Surgeon's  Mates. 

James  Boggs  was  surgeon's  mate  of  the  Second  Battalion 
during  the  first  two  years  of  the  war.  He  was  a  Pennsyl- 
vanian  by  birth  and  residence.  He  continued  after  the 
war  as  surgeon  of  the  British  army  in  Canada,  was  made 
surgeon  of  the  garrison  at  Halifax,  November  22d,  1798, 


42         The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

was  retired  on  half-pay  in  1814,  and  died  in  Halifax  in 
1832,  ninety-one  years  of  age. 

Haulenbeck. — An   officer   of   this    name,    with 

Christian  name  unknown,  is  found  on  the  rolls  of  the 
Third  Battalion  of  the  Volunteers  in  1782,  but  is  out  of  the 
service  in  1783. 

Stephen  Millidge,  a  son  of  Major  Millidge,  was  for 
several  years  surgeon's  mate  of  the  Fifth  Battalion,  but  he 
seems  to  have  tired  of  the  medical  profession,  for,  September 
14th.  1783,  he  is  found  in  commission  as  ensign  in  the 
Second  Battalion. 

Chaplains. 

Thomas  Barton  was  born  in  Ireland  in  the  year  1730. 
He  was  educated  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  and  in  1752 
he  came  to  live  in  Philadelphia.  In  1753  he  married  in 
that  city  the  sister  of  the  celebrated  David  Rittenhouse.  In 
1755  he  received  the  appointment  of  a  missionary  to  the 
counties  of  York  and  Cumberland,  Pennsylvania.  In  the 
year  1758  he  became  chaplain  to  the  forces  under  General 
Forbes  after  the  defeat  at  Fort  Du  Quesne.  For  twenty 
years  thereafter  he  was  rector  of  the  English  Church  at 
Lancaster,  Pennsylvania.  In  1770  he  received  the  degree 
of  Master  of  Arts  from  King's  College,  New  York.  When 
the  Revolutionary  War  opened  he  maintained  his  allegiance 
to  Great  Britain,  was  forced  to  abandon  his  patriotic  con- 
gregation, and  removed  to  New  York  city  in  November, 
177S.  In  1779  he  became  chaplain  of  the  Third  Battalion, 
New  Jersey  Volunteers,  and  died  May  25th,  1780,  in  New 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  43 

York  city,  and  was  interred  in  the  chancel   of  St.  George's 
Chapel. 

Daniel  Batwell. — He  was,  October  25th,  1778,  commis- 
sioned chaplain  of  the  Fourth  Battalion,  and  in  the  later 
years  of  the  war  he  did  the  same  duty  in  the  Third  Battal- 
ion. He  was  a  resident  of  Pennsylvania,  being  rector  of 
Episcopal  churches  in  the  counties  of  York  and  Cumber- 
land. He  was,  in  1776,  arrested  and  confined  in  the  prison 
at  York,  Pennsylvania,  for  disloyalty  to  America.  He 
moved  his  family  into  New  York,  when  he  joined  the  Skin- 
ner's Greens,  and  on  the  declaration  of  peace  went  to 
England. 

Charles  Inglis  was  made  chaplain  of  the  First  Battalion 
of  Volunteers,  April  25th,  1781,  and  so  continued  until  the 
war  closed.  In  1783  he  moved  to  Halifax.  He  was  made 
the  first  bishop  of  Nova  Scotia  on  August  12th,  1787,  and 
was  thereby  the  first  Colonial  Bishop  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  at  Halifax,  Febru- 
ary 24th,  1816.  A  picture  of  Dr.  Inglis  may  be  found  on 
page  79  of  M  Lawrence's  Incidents  in  Early  History  of  New 
Brunswick." 

Charles  Morgan. — On  December  24th,  1780,  Charles 
Morgan  was  made  chaplain  of  the  Second  Battalion,  but 
was  removed  in  June,  1783,  by  the  appointment  of  Mr. 
Sayre. 

John  Rowland. — At  the  organization  of  the  Second 
Battalion  this  minister  took  the  chaplaincy  and  remained 
therein   until   1781.     The  identity  of  this  man  with  John 


44         The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Hamilton  Rowland,  the  missionary  of  Episcopal  church  in 
Pennsylvania,  cannot  now  be  determined. 

James  Sayre. — Mr.  Sayre,  on  June  10th,  1783,  took  Mr. 
Morgan's  place  as  chaplain  of  the  Second  Battalion.  He 
was  a  rector  of  the  Episcopal  church  in  Brooklyn,  and 
attended  also  to  his  duties  with  the  brigade  on  Staten 
Island.  Soon  after  this  he  removed  to  St.  John,  New 
Brunswick,  was  a  grantee  of  that  city  and  then  accepted  a, 
charge  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island.  He  died  at  Fairfield, 
Connecticut,  at  the  age  of  fifty-three,  in  the  year  1798. 

Edward  Winslow  was  the  brigade-chaplain  of  Skinner's 
Brigade  until  the  year  1780,  when  he  died  in  New  York, 
aged  fifty-nine.  His  successor  in  that  office  does  not 
appear  on  the  rolls.  He  was  a  Boston  man,  a  graduate  of 
Harvard  University.  He  was  of  the  Episcopal  denomina- 
tion and  was  one  time  settled  in  Q.uincy,  Massachusetts. 
He  came  to  New  York  city,  escaping  from  the  patriotic 
feeling  in  his  church,  and  there  he  formed  the  friendship 
of  General  Skinner,  and  so  joined  his  forces  as  stated. 

Captains. 

David  Alston. — He  was  captain  in  the  Third  Battalion 
in  1778,  but  resigned  the  same  year. 

John  Barbarie. — He  was  born  in  the  year  1751  and  in 
1776  organized  a  company  for  Skinner's  command,  com- 
missioned first  as  a  lieutenant  and  then  was  made  a  cap- 
tain in  the  First  Battalion  December  31,  1778.  He  was 
captured  on  Staten  Island,  in  1777,  and  lodged  in  the  gaol 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  45 

at  Trenton,  New  Jersey.  In  1779  he  seems  to  have  been 
dropped  from  the  rolls,  but  restored  to  commission  in  1782 
and  1783,  but  in  the  Second  Battalion.  He  enjoyed  the 
reputation  of  being  a  brave  and  gallant  soldier.  In  the 
campaign  in  the  South  he  was  twice  wounded,  once  at  the 
siege  of  Fort  Ninety-Six,  in  South  Carolina,  May  22d,  1781, 
and  again  at  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs,  South  Carolina, 
September  8th,  1781.  After  the  declaration  of  peace  he 
resided  at  St.  John,  New  Brunswick,  and  died  in  the  year 
1818. 

Benjamin  Barton. — This  officer  was  a  captain  in  the 
Fifth  Battalion  in  1778,  but  with  that  year  his  military 
service  ceased. 

Uriah  Bleau. — On  January  13th,  1777,  he  was  commis- 
sioned a  captain  in  the  Second  Battalion,  but  the  following 
year  he  appears  as  an  ensign,  first  in  the  Second  Battalion 
and  then  in  the  Third  Battalion  and  so  continues  until  the 
end  of  the  war.  In  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs,  South 
Carolina,  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  forces  under  Gen- 
eral Nathaniel  Greene. 

Waldron  Bleau. — This  officer  was  a  resident  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  but  was  made  captain  in  the  Second 
Battalion  November  23d,  1776,  and  July  24th,  1781,  trans- 
ferred as  captain  to  the  Third  Battalion.  He  was  in  the 
volunteers  during  the  whole  war.  All  his  property  in 
New  York  was  confiscated,  and  he  died  in  St.  John,  that 
great  city  of  refuge  for  tories,  within  a  week  after  his  arrival 
there  in  1783. 


10  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Daniel  Bessonet  was  a  captain  in  the  Fourth  Battalion 
until  1779,  when  he  left  the  service.  He  belonged  to  the 
Family  of  that  name  residing  in  Bristol,  Bucks  county, 
Pennsylvania. 

Donald  Campbell  was  a  captain  in  the  Second  until 
1781  and  then  captain  in  the  Third  Battalion  from  July 
2  1th,  1781,  and  so  remained  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

Patrick  Campbell. — He  commenced  his  service  in  1777 
as  a  captain  in  the  Fourth  Battalion,  in  the  Third  in  1779, 
ami  captain  in  the  Second  Battalion  in  1781  and  17S2. 
He  left  the  service  on  the* declaration  of  peace.  He  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  Southern  campaign,  especially  at 
King's  Mountain,  where  he  was  severely  wounded,  and  at 
the  siege  of  Fort  Ninety-Six. 

Peter  Campbell  was  a  resident  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey, 
before  the  war.  In  a  letter  addressed  by  Colonel  Joseph 
Reed,  Washington's  adjutant-general,  to  the  Council  of 
Safety  of  Pennsylvania,  dated  January  1st,  1776,  (should 
be  1777),  Pennsylvania  Archives,  First  Series,  Vol.  V.,  p. 
151,  it  appears  ttiat  he  was  arrested  and  sent  to  Philadel- 
phia because  he  had  "been  appointed  a  captain  in  a  new 
regiment  proposed  to  be  raised  for  the  king's  service.' 
General  Washington  desired  him  to  be  "closely  confined.'* 
He  was  at  that  time  a  captain  in  the  Sixth  Battalion,  hav- 
ing been  commissioned  as  such  December  21st,  1776.  He 
was  killed  at  the  fight  on  Brewton's  Hill,  near  Savannah, 
Georgia,  December  29th,  1778. 

Richard  Cayford. — In  the  minutes  of  the  Committee  of 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  47 

Safety  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey,  January  12th,  1776, 
we  find  a  memorial  concerning  the  arrest  of  this  man  with 
two  other  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Cumberland,  "  con- 
victed of  being  enemies  to  this  country,  by  using  their 
influence  with  the  ignorant  and  unwary  to  raise  a  party  to 
oppose  the  measures  adopted  for  redress  of  grievances,  curs- 
ing and  ill-treating  all  Congresses  and  committees,  and  refus- 
ing to  give  any  reasonable  satisfaction  for  their  extraordi- 
nary conduct."  It  was  found  necessary  by  the  committee  to 
"  use  spirited  exertions  for  the  discouragement  of  such  base 
behaviour."  Cay  ford  was  then  placed  in  close  confinement, 
required  to  pay  charges  of  apprehension  and  give  security 
for  his  good  behaviour  in  the  sum  of  fifty  pounds.  Never- 
theless his  toryism  was  too  strong  for  prison  bars  or  legal 
bonds  and  he  next  appears  in  the  following  year  as  a  cap- 
tain in  the  First  Battalion  New  Jersey  Volunteers.  He 
remained  in  this  organization  until  1781. 

William  Chandler,  was  the  son  of  the  celebrated  Epis- 
copal divine,  Rev.  Thomas  B.  Chandler.  D.  D.,  of  Elizabeth- 
town,  New  Jersey.  He  was  born  in  May,  1750,  and  graduated 
at  King's  College  in  the  class  of  1774.  He  died  in 
England,  October  22d,  1784.  He  was  ap*pointed  a  captain 
in  the  volunteers  on  Staten  Island,  April,  1777,  but  in  1779 
he  had  not  received  his  commission  as  such.  He  was  con- 
sidered a  tory  of  the  most  conspicuous  character.  A  sketch 
of  his  father  is  to  be  found  in  Dr.  Hatfield's  History  of 
Elizabeth,  page  537. 

John  Cougle. — He  was  a  resident  of  Pennsylvania  in 
1775,  but  in  1776  joined  the  New  Jersey  Volunteers  and 
was  made  a  lieutenant  in  the  Fifth   Battalion.     On  July 


48  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

29th,  1778,  he  was  promoted. captain  in  the  First  Battalion, 
and  so  continued  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  died  in 
the  province  of  New  Brunswick  in  1819,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-three. 

Daniel  Cozens  was  a  captain  in  the  Third  Battalion  of 
Volunteers  December  25th,  1778.  He  distinguished  him- 
self greatly  as  a  zealous  officer  of  the  Crown,  and  in  the 
siege  of  Savannah,  October  9th,  1779,  lost  his  life.  For 
some  unexplained  reason  he  appears  on  the  roster  of  the 
Second  Battalion  until  the  end  of  the  war. 

Joseph  Crowell  was  a  captain  in  the  Fifth  Battalion 
December  6th,  1776.  In  1779  and  thereafter  he  was  a 
captain  in  the  First  Battalion.  He  was  a  resident  of  Mid- 
dletown,  Monmouth  county,  New  Jersey,  before  the  war. 
His  property  was  confiscated  and  sold  March  22d,  1779. 
He  was  ordered  on  one  occasion  to  execute  an  officer  who 
had  never  been  tried,  but  so  great  was  the  protest  against 
it  that  the  order  was  countermanded.  He  removed  his 
family  to  the  province  of  New  Brunswick  after  the  war, 
and  he  died  there. 

Edward  Earle. — He  was  commissioned  a  lieutenant  in 
the  Fourth  Battalion  November  22d,  1776,  and  on  July  3d, 
1781,  made  captain  in  the  Third  Battalion.  He  served 
during  the  whole  war,  and  then  moved  his  family  to  New 
Brunswick,  and  died  in  that  colony. 

Patrick  Haggerty  was  commissioned  an  ensign  in  the 
Fifth  Battalion  in  1776,  lieutenant  in  First  Battalion, 
1779,  and  made  captain  therein  December  25th,  1781.     He 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  49 

settled  in  Digby,  Nova  Scotia,  in  1783,  and  died  there  soon 
after. 

Charles  Harrison  was  a  resident  of  Trenton,  New 
Jersey,  before  the  war.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1777, 
Adjutant-General  Joseph  Reed  sent  him  as  a  prisoner  to 
the  Council  of  Safety  of  Philadelphia,  as  one  who  "  had 
taken  a  command  or  appointment  as  captain  in  a  new 
regiment  proposed  to  be  raised  under  Isaac  Allen  for  the 
the  King's  service."  He  was  a  prisoner  at  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  July,  1778.  He  must  have  escaped  from  this 
custody,  for  he  served  as  a  captain  in  the  Sixth  Battalion 
of  the  Volunteers  in  the  fall  of  1778,  then  as  captain  in 
the  Third,  and  after  1781  in  the  Second  Battalion.  In 
later  years  he  became  a  grantee  of  the  city  of  St.  John, 
New  Brunswick. 

Cornelius  Hatfield,  Jr. — Few  Jerseymen  carried  their 
toryism  to  the  extent  of  this  officer.  He  seemed  to  have  a 
special  hatred  to  his  own  townsmen  of  Elizabethtown.  Dr. 
Hatfield's  history  of  that  place  has  many  references  to  his 
bad  conduct.  He  was  a  captain  in  the  volunteers  up  to  the 
summer  of  1778.  He  was  at  one  time  thought  to  have  been 
a  party  to  the  murder  of  a  Mr.  Ball,  and  fled  from  the 
country  during  the  latter  years  of  the  war.  In  1789  he  re- 
turned to  the  United  States  and  was  arrested  for  the  crime 
but  escaped  punishment  b}r  reason  of  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
of  peace  of  1783.     He  died  in  England  at  an  advanced  age. 

John  Hatfield  was  a  captain  in  the  Third  Battalion  in 

1778,  but  does  not  afterward  appear  in  service.     He  cannot 

now  be  identified  with  the  John  Smith  Hatfield   of  Eliza- 
A. 


50         The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

beth  Town,  New  Jersey,  who  lias  a  very  similar  record  of 
murder  and  cruelty,  as  Cornelius  Hatfield,  Jr.  [See  Sabine's 
Loyalists,  Vol.  I,  p.  524.] 

Samuel  Heyden  was  a  captain  in  the  Fourth  Battalion 
under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Van  Buskirk.  He  was  captured 
in  February,  1777,  gave  his  parole — which  he  broke — was 
taken  and  sent  by  Colonel  Weeden,  of  Virginia,  adjutant- 
general  of  the  American  Army  from  Morristown,  New 
Jersey,  February  26th,  1777,  to  the  Committee  of  Safety, 
with  the  remark  that  a  "proper  attention  to  him  may  be 
found  necessary."  He  seems  to  have  received  proper  atten- 
tion, for  he  does  not  appear  afterward  in  the  service. 

Samuel  Hudnot,  a  captain  in  the  Third  Battalion  until 
the  summer  of  1779.     Nothing  more  known  of  him. 

Thomas  Hunlock  was  a  captain  in  the  Third  Battalion, 
commissioned  December  26th,  1778,  but  transferred  as  cap- 
tain, in  1781,  to  the  Second  Battalion,  and  so  remained  to 
the  end  of  the  war.  He  was  a  half-pay  officer  on  the  British 
lists  at  New  Brunswick  after  1783.  His  place  and  date  of 
death  unknown. 

William  Hutchinson  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Fifth,  then 
in  the  First,  then  a  captain -lieutenant  in  the  First  Battalion, 
April  25th,  1782,  and  the  following  year  was  made  captain 
in  the  same  organization.  He  was,  after  the  war,  a  retired 
half-pay  officer  of  the  Crown.     He  died  in  Upper  Canada. 

Garret  Keating, — This  officer  was  a  captain  in  the 
First  Battalion  in  1777,  1778  and  1779,  and  then  left  the 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  51 

service.  A  man  by  this  name  was  in  the  gaol  at  Trenton, 
New  Jersey,  in  1777,  and  this  is  believed  to  have  been 
the  same  officer. 

Joseph  Lee. — On  the  26th  of  June,  1776,  the  Provincial 
Congress  of  New  Jersey  ordered  Colonel  Abraham  Ten 
Eick,  of  Somerset  county,  to  arrest  him.  It  was  done  ;  and 
on  the  2d  of  July  he  was  apprehended  as  a  disaffected  per- 
son and  ordered  to  be  confined  in  the  common  gaol  of  Tren- 
ton. He  was  also  fined  one  hundred  pounds.  He  is  found, 
however,  soon  after  this,  December  15th,  1776,  as  a  captain 
in  the  Sixth  Battalion,  Skinner's  Brigade,  warring  against 
the  independence  of  the  States.  In  1779  he  was  transferred 
to  the  Third  Battalion,  and  in  1781  to  the  Second,  where 
we  find  his  name,  "still  as  captain  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

Samuel  Leonard. — This  officer  was  a  lieutenant  in  the 
First  Battalion  until  August  14th,  1781,  when  he  was  pro- 
moted captain  in  the  same  organization.  His  service  ex- 
tended over  the  whole  term  of  the  war. 

John  Longstreet  was  a  captain  in  the  First  Battalion 
the  first  year  of  the  war,  but  was  captured  on  Staten  Island 
and  confined  in  the  gaol  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey.  He  never 
returned  to  the  service. 

Alexander  McDonald  was' a  captain  in  the  First  Bat- 
talion after  October  18th,  1782.  He  died  in  New  Bruns- 
wick in  1835,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two. 

Cornelius  McLeod  was  a  captain  in  the  Second  Battalion 
until  1780,  and  then  leaves  the  service. 


52         The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Norman  McLeod  was  enrolled  as  captain  of  the  Second 
Battalion,  January  30th,  1778,  but  his  name,  for  some 
reason  unknown,  is  dropped  in  1779.  But  July  24th;  1781, 
he  was  re-commissioned  as  captain  in  the  Third  Battalion, 
and  so  continued  until  peace  was  declared.  He  evidently 
belonged  to  the  well-known  family  of  that  name  in  Eliza- 
beth Town,  New  Jersey. 

Peter  Ruttan. — A  captain  in  the  Fourth  Battalion  in 
1777,  and  transferred  to  the  Third  Battalion  in  1781.  The 
closing  year  of  the  war  he  was  not  in  commission. 

Samuel  Ryerson,  of  Paterson,  New  Jersey.  He  was  a 
captain  in  the  Fourth  Battalion,  March  25th,  1777,  and  in 
1782  in  the  Third  Battalion.  He  had  a*  brother  Joseph,  a 
lieutenant  in  the  Prince  of  Wales  Volunteers.  He  took 
part  in  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  South  Carolina,  Oc- 
tober 7th,  1780,  and  was  wounded.  He  lived  in  Canada 
after  the  declaration  of  peace. 

James  Shaw  commenced  his  service  in  the  volunteers  as 
captain  in  the  Fifth  Battalion,  and  in  the  fall  of  1778  he 
was  transferred  to  First  Battalion.  He  was  mortally 
wounded  in  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs,  South  Carolina, 
September  8th,  1781. 

George  Stanforth  —  This  officer  was  captain  in  the 
Second  Battalion  until  1780,  and  after  this  date  nothing  is 
known  of  him. 

John  Taylor  was  born  May  15th,  1742,  near  Amboy, 
New  Jersey.     He  appears  at  the  close  of  the  war  as  a  cap- 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  53 

tain  in  the  First  Battalion,  commissioned  October  15th, 
1780.  He  was 'a  lieutenant  in  the  same  organization  from 
1776  to  date  just  named.  He  distinguished  himself  in  the 
King's  Mountain  fight.  It  is  quite  probable  that  he  was  a 
son  of  Sheriff  John  Taylor,  of  Monmouth  county,  New 
Jersey. 

Bartholomew  Thatcher  was  confined  in  Trenton  gaol 
July  2d,  1776,  at  the  same  time  as  Captain  Joseph  Lee. 
He  became  a  captain  in  the  Third  Battalion  of  the  Volun- 
teers, September  10th,  1778,  and  after  1780  did  the  same 
duty  in  the  Second  Battalion. 

William  Van  Allen  was  commissioned  captain  in  the 
Fourth  Battalion,  November  23d,  1776.  In  1780  he  is 
found  in  the  same  office  in  the  Third  Battalion  and  served 
until  peace  was  declared. 

Jacob  Van  Buskirk  was  the  son  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Van  Buskirk.  He  was  enrolled  at  the  beginning  of  the  war 
and  was  commissioned  a  captain  in  the  Third  Battalion  of  the 
New  Jersey  Volunteers,  May  13th,  1780.  He  was  captured 
in  November,  1777,  by  the  troops  of  General  Philemon 
Dickinson.  In  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs,  South  Caro- 
lina, September  8th,  1781,  he  was  severely  wounded. 

John  Williams  was  a  captain  in  the  Fifth  Battalion  in 
1778.  He  was  the  officer  who,  by  order  of  General  Skinner, 
marked  houses  in  Monmouth  county  with  an  "  R,"  so  that 
the  tories  would  know  who  their  foes  were  and  whom  they 
were  at  liberty  to  annoy. 


54         The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Captain-Lieutenants. 

John  Alston  was  a  captain-lieutenant  in  the  Third  Bat- 
talion until  1779.  No  particulars  of  Ins  service,  or  life 
afterward,  are  now  known. 

Joseph  Cunliff  was  a  lieutenant  in  1779,  and  then  cap- 
tain-lieutenant April  25th,  1782,  in  the  First  Battalion 
until  the  declaration  of  peace. 

Edward  Steele. — This  officer  was  a  lieutenant  in  the 
Sixth  Battalion,  May  28th,  1778,  in  the  Third  in  1779,  then 
promoted  captain-lieutenant  in  the  Second  Battalion,  and 
so  continued  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

Lieutenants. 

Charles  Babbington. — This  officer  was  a  lieutenant  in 
the  Second  Battalion  of  the  Volunteers  in  1779. 

Henry  Barton  was  an  ensign  in  the  First  Battalion  in 
1780  and  1781,  and  promoted  lieutenant  October  25th, 
1782.  He  remained  in  service  until  the  end  of  the  war. 
He  was  a  son  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Joseph  Barton. 

James  Brittain  was  born  in  1752  and  was  one  of  the 
earliest  of  Jersey  tories.  He  was  very  much  hated  by  his 
neighbours  and  they  did  everything  to  torment  and  injure 
him.  At  last  he  joined  the  armed  loyalists,  with  a  party 
of  recruits,  and  was  commissioned  an  ensign  in  the  First 
Battalion  in  1779,  and  promoted  a  lieutenant  April  25th, 
1782.     He  was  considered  a  brave  officer.     On  one  occa* 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  55 

sion  he  was  taken  prisoner  and  sentenced  to  death,  but  he 
escaped  just  before  the  date  fixed  for  his  execution  and  re- 
joined his  command      He  died  in  the  year  1838. 

William  Chew  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Third  Battalion 
in  1778,  and  in  the  Second  Battalion  until  August  15th, 
1782,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the  Garrison  Battalion, 
with  same  rank.  He  was  placed  on  half  pay  in  1783,  and 
lived  in  New  Brunswick  until  his  death,  in  the  year  1819, 
at  the  age  of  ninety-four.  His  name  appears  du  the  army 
list  that  year  for  the  last  time. 

John  Coombes  was  born  in  1752;  was  a  lieutenant  in 
the  Third  Battalion  September  10th,  1778,  and  transferred 
to  the  Second  Battalion  in  1781.  He  died  in  New  Bruns- 
wick in  the  year  1827. 

Richard  Cooper  was  made  an  ensign  in  the  Third  Bat- 
talion in  1781,  and  a  lieutenant  in  the  Third  Battalion, 
October  25th,  1782. 

John  DeMonzes. — An  officer  by  this  name  appears  in 
the  Second  Battalion  from  1777  to  1780.  Nothing  is  known 
of  his  service.     Even  the  spelling  of  his  name  is  doubtful. 

Justus  Earle  was  commissioned  an  ensign  in  the  Fourth 
Battalion  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  promoted  a 
lieutenant  in  the  Third  Battalion  December  18th,  1781. 
In  Augnst,  1779,  he  appears  as  a  prisoner  of  war  in  Phila- 
delphia, but  he  was  afterwards  exchanged  and  rejoined  his 
command. 


56         The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

John  Ford  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Second  Battalion  in  the 
the  year  1777.  He  was  dismissed  from  the  service  in 
Philadelphia  May  3d,  1778,  for  "conduct  unbecoming  a 
gentleman,"  as  we  learn  from  General  Clinton's  order  book. 

Francis  Frazer  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Third  Battalion 
in  1778. 

James  Harrison. — A  lieutenant  in  the  Third  Battalion 
May  28th,  1778,  and  in  1780  in  the  Second  Battalion.  He 
remained  in  service  to  the  end  of  the  war.  He  fled  to  St. 
John,  New  Brunswick,  and  was  made  a  grantee  of  that 
city. 

John  Hatton  was  commissioned  a  lieutenant  in  the 
Sixth  Battalion  May  28th,  1778.  In  1779  he  appears  in 
the  Third,  and  in  1780  in  the  Second  Battalion.  He  never 
rose  to  any  higher  office.  He  was  severely  wounded  in 
the  siege  of  Fort  Ninety -Six,  South  Carolina,  May  22d, 
1781. 

Anthony  Hollinshead  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Third 
Battalion  up  to  January,  1779,  when  he  left  the  service. 

Christopher  Insley. — He  started  with  the  Fifth  Bat- 
talion, but  he  left  the  line  in  1778. 

f 
George  Lambert. — He  was  enrolled  January  1st,  1777, 

commissioned  in  the  Second  Battalion  in  1779  as  a  lieu- 
tenant, and  transferred  as  such  to  the  Third  Battalion 
July  20th,  1781,  and  so  remained  until  peace  was  declared. 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  57 

John  Lawrence,  an  ensign  in  the  First  Battalion  in 
1779,  made  a  lieutenant  in  the  First  Battalion,  August 
25th,  1780,  and  remained  in  service  the  rest  of  the  war. 
Sheriff  John  Lawrence,  of  Monmouth  county,  New  Jersey, 
had  a  son  John  Lawrence,  a  very  distinguished  physician, 
about  whom  Sabine  in  his  "  Loyalists,"  Vol.  II,  page  2, 
gives  a  long  and  interesting  sketch,  and  Mr.  Salter,  in  his 
'Old  Times  in  Monmouth  County,"  gives  a  very  minute, 
account,  but  it  is  not  possible  now  to  identify  Doctor  Law- 
rence as  this  Lieutenant  Lawrence.  Yet  there  are  many 
circumstances  which  make  me  believe  they  are  the  same 
man. 

Enoch  Lyon  was  commissioned  a  lieutenant  in  the 
Third  Battalion,  September  10th,  1778,  but  in  1780  was 
transferred  to  the  Second  Battalion  and  so  remained. 

Donald  McPherson  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Fourth 
Battalion  in  1778.  He  afterwards  became  a  captain  in  the 
British  Legion. 

James  Moody. — He  was  born  in  1744.  A  farmer  before 
the  war,  of  quiet  habits  and  unpretending  life.  His  loyalty 
to  the  King  was  sincere,  and  his  patriot  neighbours  exhib- 
ited their  opinion  of  him  in  a  most  decided  manner.  This 
became  so  annoying  that  in  1777  he  joined  the  loyal  troops 
of  New  Jersey,  was  made  an  ensign  in  the  First  Battalion 
in  1779,  and  August  14th,  1781,  a  lieutenant  in  the  First 
Battalion.  From  that  moment  he  became  the  uncompro- 
mising foe  of  freedom,  and  "  Moody  is  out,"  was  the  cry  in 
any  locality  in  New  Jersey  which  was  the  scene  of  antici- 
pated rapine  and  pillage.     Plis  personal  achievements  in 


58         The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

the  military  service  are  minutely  detailed  in  "Sabine's 
Loyalists."  On  one  occasion  he  attempted  the  capture  of  Gov- 
ernor Livingston,  and  his  orders  from  Lieutenant-General 
Knyphausen,  May  10th,  1780,  may  be  found  in  "Moore's 
Diary  of  the  American  Revolution,"  Vol.  II,  page  307.  At 
another  time  he  was  himself  taken  by  General  Anthony 
Wayne,  and  suffered  much  cruelty  from  his  captors,  but 
finally  broke  his  guard  and  escaped.  He  still  continued  his 
attacks  upon  the  patriots,  and  was  often  employed  as  a  spy  on 
their  movements.  Notwithstanding  all  his  years  of  hardships 
he  was  never  promoted  above  a  subaltern  in  the  military 
service.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  now  why  this  was  not 
done.  All  his  property  in  New  Jersey  was  confiscated.  In 
1783  a  "  Narrative  of  his  exertions  and  sufferings  in  the 
cause  of  government,"  was  published  in  London,  and  is 
believed  to  have  been  dictated  by  him.  An  interesting 
and  very  full  sketch  of  his  life  will  be  found  in  Salter's 
"Old  Times  in  Old  Monmouth."  He  died  in  1809,  in 
Weymouth,  Nova  Scotia. 

John  Monro. — He  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  First  Battalion 
in  1778,  but  his  record  is  not  known. 

Thomas  Oakason. — His  service  exactly  like  Lieutenant 
Monro. 

Josiah  Parker. — Lieutenant  in  the  Second  Battalion 
December  23d,  1776,  and  transferred  to  the  Third  Battalion 
July  20th,  1781.  He  was  in  commission  in  the  volunteers 
during  the  whole  war. 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  59 

Robert  Peterson  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  First  Battalion 
the  first  two  years  of  the  war. 

John  Reid. — This  officer  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Fiftli 
Battalion  in  1777  and  1778,  and  in  the  First  Battalion  from 
1779  to  1783. 

Martin  Ryerson  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Fourth  Bat- 
talion until  1780. 

James  Servanier  was  made  a  lieutenant  in  the  Fourth 
Battalion  January  2d,  1777,  transferred  in  1780  to  the  Third, 
and  remained  therein  until  the  end  of  the  war.  He  died 
in  St.  John,  New  Brunswick,  in  the  year  1803. 

Daniel  Shannon. — A  lieutenant  in  the  Fifth  Battalion 
in  1778.     Nothing  is  known  of  his  history. 

John  Simonson. — An  ensign  in  the  Fourth  Battalion  in 
1777  and  1778,  commissioned  a  lieutenant  in  the  Third 
Battalion  August  25th,  1780,  where  he  remained  until  peace 
was  declared,  when  he  removed  to  the  Province  of  New 
Brunswick  and  died  there.  He  was  a  prisoner  of  war  in 
Philadelphia  in  August,  1779. 

Michael  Smith  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Fourth  Battalion 
in  1777  and  part  of  1778,  but  is  then  dropped  from  the 
rolls. 

William  Stevenson. — Commissioned  a  lieutenant  in 
Second  Battalion  of  the  Volunteers  December  23d,  177G ; 
native  of  Monmouth  county,  New  Jersey.     A  lieutenant  in 


60  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

the  Third  Battalion  July  20th,  1781.  He  distinguished 
himself  in  the  King's  Mountain  fight  and  at  siege  of 
Charleston.  He  died  at  Weymouth,  Nova  Scotia,  in  1818, 
at  an  advanced  age. 

Andrew  Stockton  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  First  Battal- 
ion at  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  probably  an  enlisted 
man  during  the  years  prior  to  1782,  and  is  the  soldier  who 
was  taken  prisoner  on  Staten  Island  August  22d,  1777,  and 
confined  in  the  Trenton  gaol. 

John  Thompson  was  made  an  ensign  in  the  First  Battal- 
ion in  1777,  and  a  lieutenant  in  the  same  organization  Au- 
gust 25th,  1780. 

John  Throckmorton. — A  lieutenant  in  the  First  Battal- 
ion the  first  year  of  the  war.  He  had  the  same  fate  as 
Lieutenant  Stockton  ;  but,  unlike  him,  did  not  return  to  the 
service. 

John  Troup. — A  lieutenant  in  the  Third  Battalion,  Vol- 
unteers. He  is  on  the  list  of  those  severely  wounded  at 
Eutaw  Springs,  South  Carolina,  September  8th,  1781. 

William  Turner. — A  lieutenant  in  the  Third  Battalion 
March  20th,  1778.  He  does  not  appear  on  the  rolls  of 
1780-1782,  but  is  found  in  commission  in  the  Second  Bat- 
talion at  the  dissolution  of  that  command. 

John  Van  Buskirk — no  doubt  a  member  of  the  Bergen 
county  family  of  that  name — was  made  a  lieutenant  De- 
cember  7th,   1776,   of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Van    Buskirk's 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  61 

Fourth  Battalion,  and,  with  him,  was  transferred  to  the 
Third  Battalion.  Although  with  this  family  influence  and 
a  service  of  seven  years,  he  did  not  advance  any  in  his 
lineal  rank. 

William  Van  Dumont  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Second 
Battalion,  and  July  25th,  1781,  was  commissioned  to  the 
same  office  in  the  First  Battalion.  His  service  was  during 
the  entire  war. 

John  Van  Norden. — In  1777  and  1778  an  ensign  in  the 
Fourth  Battalion,  and  then  promoted  lieutenant  in  the 
Third  Battalion,  his  service  ceasing  in  1782.  After  the  war 
he  became  an  instructor  in  King's  College,  Nova  Scotia, 
and  then  removed  to  Bermuda,  where  he  died. 

John  Vought. — A  lieutenant  in  the  Sixth  Battalion, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Allen,  commanding,  in  1777  and  1778. 
His  residence  before  the  war  was  in  Monmouth  county, 
New  Jersey. 

Joseph  Waller. — Lieutenant  in  the  Fifth  Battalion  in 
1778.     His  history  unknown. 

John  Willis  commenced  his  service  as  ensign  of  Third 
Battalion  of  the  volunteers,  then  made  ensign  of  the  Second 
Battalion,  October  24th,  1781,  and  in  1783  promoted  to  a 
lieutenancy. 

Samuel  Richard  Wilson. — A  lieutenant  in  the  Second 
Battalion  in  1779.  The  following  year  he  was  transferred 
to  the  Royal  Garrison  Battalion. 


62  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Ensigns. 

Jonathan  Alston. — Ensign  in  the  Third  Battalion  from 
1777  to  1780. 

Peter  Anderson,  ensign  in  the  Fifth  Battalion  in  1778. 
He  was  a  member  of  Governor  Franklin's  Board  of  Asso- 
ciated Loyalists  in  New  York  city.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
ninety  five,  in  FredericHon,  in  the  Province  of  New  Bruns- 
wick. 

William  Banks,  an  ensign  in  the  Second  Battalion,  com- 
missioned October  24th,  1782.  He  had  been  a  sergeant  in 
that  command  for  several  years  previous  to  this  date. 

James  Barton. — An  ensign  in  the  First  Battalion  August 
14th,  1781. 

Joseph   Bean  was  an   ensign  of  the  Fifth  Battalion  in 

1777  and  1778. 

Joseph  Brittain. — He  was  a  brother  of  Lieutenant  Brit- 
tain  and  had  a  similar  experience  as  related  hereinbefore 
of  that  officer.  He  was  an  ensign  in  the  First  Battalion, 
October  25th,  1782.  He  died  in  the  year  183),  at  the  age 
of  seventy-two. 

John  Camp. — Ensign  in  the  Third  Battalion.  Wounded 
in  the  thigh  at  the  affair  at  Egg  Harbour,  New  Jersey, 
October  15th,  1778,  and  after  that  date  discharged  for  dis- 
ability. 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  63 

James  Cole. — Ensign  in  the  Fourth  Battalion  in  the 
years  1777,  1778  and  1779,  and  in  August  of  that  year  is 
found  as  a  prisoner  of  war  in  Philadelphia.  He  did  not 
return  to  the  service. 

Nathaniel  Coombes. — Commissioned  an  ensign  in  the 
Third  Battalion,  May  28th,  1778,  transferred  in  1780  to 
Second  Battalion,  and  so  remained  until  the  war  ended. 

Ezekiel  Dennis. — An  ensign  of  the  Fifth  Battalion  in 
1778.     His  service  is  not  known  other  than  just  mentioned. 

Peter  Dunworth. — Ensign  in  the  Third  Battalion  in 
1779. 

Daniel  Grandin. — This  officer  was  an  ensign  in  the 
Sixth  Battalion  for  a  short  time  in  the  year  1778  and  then 
left  the  service  and  lived  until  1782  in  New  York.  He  was 
on  the  Board  of  the  Associated  Loyalists  in  that  city  dur- 
ing the  war  period,  and  then  lived  in  Shelburne,  Nova  Scotia. 

Reuben  Hankinson. — He  is  first  noticed  as  an  enlisted 
man  in  the  volunteers,  when  he  was  taken  prisoner  on 
Staten  Island  in  1777.  After  he  was  exchanged  he  was 
made  an  ensign  in  the  First  Battalion,  August  14th,  1781. 

Hendorff  was    made   an    ensign  in   the   Third 

Battalion  on  February  5th,  1782,  and  thus  remained  until 
the  close  of  the  war. 

William  K.  Hurlet. — An  ensign  in  the  Second  Battalion 
in  1778. 


64  The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

John  Jewett  was  commissioned  an  ensign  in  the  Third 
Battalion,  July  31st,  1779,  and  he  served  as  such  the  rest  of 
the  war. 

Zenophon  Jewett  was  made  an  ensign,  July  29th,  1778, 
in  the  First  Battalion,  and  so  remained  until  1783. 

William  Lawrence  was  an  ensign  in  the  First  Bat- 
talion until  1780,  and  then  resigned. 

James  Braiser  Le  Grange. — An  ensign  in  the  Third 
Battalion  in  1777  and  1778,  and  in  the  Second  Battalion  in 
1779  and  1780.     His  subsequent  history  is  not  known. 

George  Lee. — An  ensign  in  the  Second  Battalion  in  1782 
and  1783.    His  commission  bears  date  December  20th,  1781. 

John  Leonard. — Ensign  in  the  Second  Battalion  Decem- 
ber 18th,  1781.  He  died  in  1801  in  the  Province  of  New 
Brunswick. 

Richard  Lippincott. — This  infamous  man  commenced 
his  military  career  as  an  ensign  in  the  First  Battalion  dur- 
ing the  year  1777  and  up  to  the  summer  of  the  following 
year.  He  then  left  the  New  Jersey  Volunteers  and  spent 
the  rest  of  the  war  period,  with  rank  as  captain,  in  .the 
direct  service  of  the  "  Board  of  Associated  Loyalists  "  in 
New  York  city.  Captain  Lippincott  was  the  officer  who 
hanged  Captain  Joshua  Huddy  of  the  New  Jersey  State 
Troops,  April  12th,  1782.  (See  pamphlet  by  the  author.of 
this  paper  entitled  "  The  Capture  of  the  Block  House  at 
Toms  River,  New  Jersey,  March   24th,  1782/')     After  the 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  65 

war  Captain  Lippincott  received  from  Great  Britain  three 
thousand  acres  of  land  at  what  is  now  the  city  of  Toronto, 
Canada,  and  a  half-pay  pension  for  life.  He  died  in 
Toronto  in  the  year  1826,  aged  eighty-two. 

Richard  McGinnis,  ensign  in  the  Third  Battalion  in 
1779.  He  was  killed  in  the  fight  at  King's  Mountain, 
South  Carolina,  October  7th,  1780.  He  was  at  the  time 
acting  as  a  lieutenant  in  Ferguson's  Corps. 

Hector  McLean,  ensign  in  the  First  Battalion  in  1777 
and  1778. 

Colin  McVane  was  an  ensign  in  the  Fourth  Battalion 
in  1778  and  1779. 

Phineas  Millidge,  ensign  in  the  First  Battalion,  August 
25th,  1780.  He  was  the  youngest  of  four  sons  of  Major 
Thomas  Millidge.  He  died  in  Nova  Scotia  in  the  year 
1836,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one. 

Peter  Myer,  ensign  in  the  volunteers  in  the  fall  of  1778 
and  1779.  He  was  killed  in  a  raid  in  Bergen  county,  New 
Jersey,  in  the  year  1779. 

John  Robbins. — Ensign  in  the  First  Battalion  in  1777 
and  1778,  and  captured  on  Staten  Island  August  22d,  1777. 
He  is  found  in  Trenton  goal  soon  after  the  event. 

•Ruloff    Ruloffs. — Commissioned    an    ensign    in    the 
Second  Battalion  October  15th,  1783. 
5 


66         The  New  Jersey  Volunteers  (Loyalists) 

Stephen   Ryder.— An   ensign  in   the   Third   Battalion 
December  20th,  1781. 

George  Ryerson.— Ensign  in  the  Fourth  Battalion  in 

1778. 

John  Seamon.— Commissioned  an  ensign  in  the  Third 
Battalion  in  1779,  but  remained  in  service  but  one  year. 

James  Service.— An  ensign  in  the  Sixth  Battalion  in 

1778. 

John  Shannon  was  commissioned  an  ensign  in  the 
Second  Battalion  September  10th,  1778,  and  remained  as 
such  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

Philip  Kearney  Skinner. — A  resident  of  Perth  Amboy, 
New  Jersey.  He  was  a  son  of  General  Skinner.  He  was 
commissioned  by  his  father  as  ensign  in  the  First  Bat- 
talion November  10th,  1781.  He  was,  after  the  war,  placed 
in  the  British  line — the  Twenty-Third  Regiment  of  Foot — 
and  after  various  promotions  he  became,  in  1825,  lieuten- 
ant-general of  the  British  army.  The  following  year, 
April  9th,  1826,  he  died  in  London. 

John  Swanton  was  an  ensign  in  the  Third  Battalion  in 
1778  and  until  1782,  when  we  find  him  in  the  same  office 
in  the  Second  Battalion. 

Lewis  Thompson  was  commissioned  an  ensign  in  the 
Second  Battalion  December  19th,  1781. 


In  the  Revolutionary  War.  67 

Henry  Van  Allen. — Made  an  ensign  in  the  Third  Bat- 
talion December  18th,  1781.  f 

Philip  Van  Cortlandt,  Jr. — Ensign  in  his  father's  Bat- 
talion, the  Third,  July  31st,  1779. 

Malcom  Wilmott. — Ensign  in  the  Third  Battalion  after 
October  25th,  1782. 

John  Woodward,  of  quaker  parentage,  living  in  Mon- 
mouth county.  But  he  abjured  the  faith  which  is  opposed 
to  "  warrings  and  fightings,"  and  we  find  him  as  an  ensign 
in  the  First  Battalion  August  14th,  1781.  He  died  in  the 
Province  of  New  Brunswick  in  the  year  1805. 

Robert  Woodward. — Commissioned  an  ensign  in  the 
Third  Battalion  December  19th,  1781,  and  remained  therein 
until  peace  was  declared  and  the  New  Jersey  Volunteers 
disbanded. 


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